People questioning why Copenhagen shooting hasn’t been labelled as terrorism

People are questioning why a shooting at a shopping centre in Copenhagen in which three people were killed has not been labelled as an act of terrorism.

A 17-year-old Danish boy and girl and a 47-year-old Russian man were killed in the shooting at the Field’s Shopping Centre in the Danish capital.

The attack was carried out at around 5:35pm local time on Sunday (3 July), and police arrested the suspected shooter near the mall 13 minutes after being called.

Four others were seriously wounded in the attack, two people from Denmark and two from Sweden, which took place next to the venue of a planned Harry Styles concert and left fans of the singer running ‘for their lives’.

Police have said a total of 30 people were injured in the shooting, which Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has called a ‘cruel attack’.

The shooter has been identified as a 22-year-old Danish man who is now in police custody and will today be arraigned on preliminary charges of murder.

However, some people are questioning why the shooter has not been labelled as a terrorist when a lethal attack has been launched against a civilian population.

One person wrote that they thought it was ‘so, so predictable’ that a white shooter in a western country who opened fire and killed civilians wouldn’t be labelled as a terrorist.

Another individual said: “U know the perp is white when they call it ‘shooting’ and not terrorism.”

Someone else commented ‘surprise, surprise’ at the announcement from Danish police that they don’t consider the lethal shooting to have been motivated by terrorism.

According to The Guardian, Danish police said they do not believe the attack was terror-related as they believe the shooter chose his victims at random.

Søren Thomassen, Copenhagen’s chief police inspector, said ‘nothing in our investigation’ including documents and statements gathered from witnesses ‘can substantiate that this is an act of terrorism’.

The definition of terrorism requires the attack to be ‘in pursuit of political aims’ and police are saying they currently believe this was a random act of violence rather than a shooting with a wider goal behind it.

Police say the shooter had mental health issues and was known to Danish mental health services.

They also believe the shooter acted alone and was not helped by anyone in his deadly attack.

When arrested by officers the shooter had a rifle and a knife in his possession, with Thomassen describing the shooter as ‘an ethnic Dane’ and said he was ‘peripherally’ known to the police.

Source: Unilad