Thousands have gathered in Copenhagen to pay tribute to the victims of a weekend shopping center shooting that left three people dead, including two teenagers.
“Cruel, unjust and senseless. Tonight, we all mourn,” the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told the massive crowd that gathered on Tuesday outside the Field’s shopping complex, where the attack occurred. Frederiksen called for unity in the face of the tragedy.
A boy and a girl, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian man who lived in Denmark were killed, and at least four people were injured after a gunman opened fire at the busy Copenhagen shopping center on Sunday.
The late afternoon shooting shook the city, which had just hosted the opening stages of the Tour de France cycling competition and seen the return of the Roskilde music festival after cancellations because of Covid-19.
“It’s not hard to imagine, ‘what if it was my child?’ – I’m the mother of two teenagers,” the older Copenhagen, Sophie Andersen, said during an address, which was followed by a moment of silence.
“Children and young people should not die. They should be immortal,” Andersen added.
Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik also attended the service, where speeches were interspersed with musical performances.
“We stand together in this difficult time,” Frederik said.
The mood was sombre, with some crying among the many families and young people who had gathered.
“I’m quite ambivalent. Of course it’s nice to see all these people who are here to support the people who have been hurt by this action, but I’m also a little scared,” Oliver Stoltz, who works in a sporting goods store at the shopping centre, said .
The 24-year-old was at Field’s – located between the city center and the capital’s airport – when the shooting started and heard the first shots ring out.
“This used to be a place where I can go work, be happy and have a good time. Now I dread even coming out here to this part of town.”
The alleged perpetrator of the attack, a 22-year-old Danish man who authorities say was known to mental health services, was remanded in custody in a closed psychiatric ward on Monday on murder charges.
Police said on Tuesday they had no new information to release about the investigation.
The Field’s shopping center has been closed since the attack and is expected to reopen on July 11.
Denmark’s largest cinema chain also kept all its movie theaters closed because the 17-year-old boy killed in the attack worked in the cinema in the shopping centre.
Nordisk Film Biografer said on Facebook that the company made the decision out of respect for the victims and “to talk the situation through with our staff”.
With Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
www.theguardian.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism