Palestinian Arrested, Charged For Denmark Shooting

A city court remanded the man in custody for four weeks.

Danish police on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old man of Palestinian origin on suspicion of shooting and wounding two Israeli citizens at a shopping mall in central Denmark and charged him with attempted murder.

A city court remanded the man in custody for four weeks. The Danish citizen, born in Lebanon, pleaded innocent but admitted to possession of a firearm before the judge ordered the rest of the hearing to be held behind closed doors.

A gunman on Wednesday fired several shots at two Israeli youths who worked at a hair salon in the Odense shopping mall, wounding one in the leg and the other in the arm.

The Israeli men were both still in hospital on Thursday but their injuries were not life-threatening. Police said the pair had been in Denmark for about a week.

The attack came on the fifth day of Israeli air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, prompting speculation in Danish media of a link to developments in the Middle East.

A police spokesman told Reuters the suspect had surrendered himself to authorities early on Thursday, but that the motive for the attack was still unknown.

Chief Inspector John Jacobsen told Ritzau news agency that every motive for the crime would be investigated.

"We are following all the leads we have," he said.