Several people shot at shopping mall in Copenhagen, Denmark

Several people have been killed and injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, Danish police said

The suspected gunman, who is in custody, is a 22-year-old Danish man who was detained near the Fields shopping mall, said police inspector Soren Thomassen, head of the Copenhagen police operations unit, on Sunday.

“We know that there are several dead … [and] several injured,” Thomassen told a news conference, adding that a motive of “terrorism” cannot be ruled out.

“We do not have information that others are involved. This is what we know now,” he said.

Police said they were first alerted to the shooting at 5:36 pm local time (15:36 GMT).

The shopping centre is on the outskirts of Copenhagen, just across from a subway line that connects the city centre with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to Field’s.

Local media published images showing heavily armed police officers at the scene, as well as people running out of the mall.

Witnesses quoted by Danish media said they saw more than 100 people rush towards the mall’s exit when the first shots were heard.

Laurits Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store at the shopping centre with his family when he heard “three-four bangs. Really loud bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store”.