THIS is the chilling moment a maniac with a rifle stalked a shopping mall in a rampage that left two teens and a man dead and three others in a critical condition in Copenhagen last night.
Danish police confirmed two Danes – a boy and a girl both aged 17 – were killed alongside and a man, 47, during yesterday’s horror attack.
According to police, the 47-year-old was a Russian citizen living in Denmark.
Four others – two Danish women, aged 40 and 19, and two Swedes, 50 and 16 – were “in a serious condition” in hospital.
Cops said the gunman, a 22-year-old Dane, most likely acted alone and added there was no indication the attack was terror related.
“Our suspect is also known among psychiatric services, beyond that I do not wish to comment,” Copenhagen police chief Soren Thomassen told a press conference, adding that the victims appeared to have been randomly targeted.
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He said there was no clear motive for the attack and that the suspect would be arraigned later Monday on preliminary charges of murder.
Panicking crowds ran for their lives as the gunman stalked through the Danish capital’s Field’s shopping centre – close to where Harry Styles was due to perform two hours later.
The gunman – seen in chilling video wearing a vest and backwards cap – is said to have lured victims by claiming his gun was fake.
He was later seen on his knees after surrendering to armed cops outside.
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The massacre unfolded just a few hundred metres from the Royal Arena – where Harry Styles’ gig was later cancelled on the orders of police.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the capital suffered a “cruel attack” on Sunday night.
“Denmark was hit by a cruel attack on Sunday night. Several were killed. Even more wounded. Innocent families shopping or eating out. Children, adolescents and adults,” she said in a statement late on Sunday.
“It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless.
“Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second.
“I want to encourage the Danes to stand together and support each other in this difficult time.”
Thousands of fans had already packed in to see the Watermelon Sugar singer when concert organisers came on stage and asked them to leave.
Harry said he was “heartbroken” by the massacre and “praying for everyone involved”.
Many of those caught up in the panic were eating at mall restaurants before heading to the gig.
Witnesses described hearing multiple gunshots shortly before the “chaos” erupted.
Mums were seen clutching babies as terrified shoppers fled the horror scenes.
Haunting footage from inside the mall shows the gunman slinging a huge rifle over his shoulder as he paces back and forth as he appears to wait for his victims.
One onlooker, Mahdi Al-Wazni, reported seeing the gunman with a “hunting rifle” 200m away.
He told TV 2 News: “He was light in the face. He wore hunting or military clothing with a cap.”
Emilie Jeppesen, 20, told Denmark’s Jyllands Posten: “You didn’t know what was happening. Suddenly there was just chaos everywhere.
“We were sitting and going to eat and suddenly we could see people running.
“Then we first thought ‘why do people run?’ But then we could hear shots.”
Her pal Astrid Kofoed Jørgensen, added: “Everyone in the restaurant was shown out into the kitchen, and then when we sat out there we could hear three or four shots.”
Another witness, Jacob Sahin Ekman, said he thought he heard “about 15 shots”.
The 27-year-old said he was about to eat with a pal when the shooting began.
He added: “He went out to talk on the phone, and suddenly he sprinted into Dalle Valle and said, ‘Lie down, lie down. Someone is shooting.’
“Then I went under the bar and lay down.
“It was all very unreal like a movie.”
My team and I pray for everyone involved in the shooting in the Copenhagen mall.
Harry Styles
Another witness saw Danish police fire warning shots as they cornered the gunman outside.
They told Ekstra Bladet: “We heard them shout ‘drop the weapon’ and fired a couple of warning shots, and then we went our way.
“We immediately drove out of the garage, and turned right towards Kastrup Airport, where we see three to four policemen shouting at a man with a weapon in his hand.”
Rikke Levandovski said the suspect was “shooting into the crowd”.
He told broadcaster TV2: “People first thought it was a thief … Then I suddenly hear shots and threw myself behind the counter inside the store.
“He is just shooting into the crowd, not up in the ceiling or into the floor.”
Inspector Thomassen said cops received first reports of a shooting at 5:37pm local time and arrested the suspect 11 minutes later.
It has since emerged the gunman last week posted videos of himself with the rifle on YouTube, Jyllands-Posten reports.
One of the four clips, which have since been taken down, was reportedly uploaded under the caption: “I do not care”.
Another made reference to the drug Quetiapine – used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar depression and mania.
It reportedly said the drug “does not work”.
“We are familiar with the videos, and they are also part of our investigation,” says Deputy Police Inspector Lars Karlsen, who adds that the police are investigating broadly.
He would neither confirm nor deny whether the man in the video is the 22-year-old Dane under arrest in connection with the shooting.
Google, which owns Youtube, has given no comments at present, but said the videos have now been removed.
Police last night urged anyone who was at Field’s to contact their relatives.
Meanwhile, Harry Styles said in a statement: “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the shooting in the Copenhagen mall.
“I am in shock. Dearest, H.”
Many fans had already abandoned plans to attend his gig over safety fears.
One fan wrote on Twitter: “So there was a shooting near the Harry concert in Copenhagen that I was supposed to attend but I’m on my way home now.
“My friend and I are okay, but lots of Harries are leaving the concert out of worry now.”
Harry, who performed in London last week, is in the midst of his world tour.
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He is next set to perform in Paris on Tuesday.
Field’s is the largest shopping centre in Denmark, with more than 140 shops and restaurants.
