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CRIME

Two receive light injuries in ‘gang-related’ Copenhagen shooting

A shooting that took place in Copenhagen’s Northwest neighbourhood on Tuesday night is related to gang activity, Copenhagen Police believe.

Published: 25 October 2017 10:41 CEST
Two receive light injuries in 'gang-related' Copenhagen shooting
Photo: Kenneth Meyer/Polfoto/Ritzau

Two men, aged 22 and 24, received minor injuries during the shooting, during which unknown individuals fired shots at a car in which the two men were travelling.

Central investigation leader Rene Jensen of Copenhagen police confirmed late on Tuesday that “some people” were being treated at the Herlev Hospital for injuries related to the incident.

They were brought to the hospital in a car which appeared to have been damaged by the shooting, police said.

“There was probably more than one car involved. It is our assessment that the two individuals were in a car driving around in the area [in which the shooting occurred].

“So it is probable – with emphasis on probable – that a car came from beside them or from behind, after which shots were fired towards the car in which the individuals in question were sitting,” said deputy chief inspector of Copenhagen Police's organised crime unit Torben Svarrer.

Police received an alert at 9:11 pm on Tuesday from a resident who had heard shots on the Emdrupvej road.

Police believe the shooting to be connected to Copenhagen’s ongoing organised crime conflict, which has plagued the city’s Nørrebro, Mjølnerparken and nearby neighbourhoods since the beginning of the summer.

“That is due to the cast of individuals we have met in connection with [the incident],” Svarrer said.

A prior gang-related violent incident was also reported on Monday, when a 24-year.old was assaulted on the Tagensvej road. The victim was hit, kicked and stabbed during that incident. Three people were subsequently arrested and remanded in custody for four weeks for attempted murder.

“I think we should be cautious about calling this an escalation, but it is clear and we are aware that there have been several incidences over a short period of time.

“As such, we observe this with great concern,” Svarrer said.

Police have so far not apprehended suspects in connection with Tuesday’s shooting.

READ ALSO: Police appeal to Copenhagen youths after fatal shooting

CRIME

Danish government backs removing children from gang-connected families

Denmark’s government wants authorities to be able to move children out of families in which parents are gang members and is likely to formalise the measure in parliament.

Published: 9 April 2024 13:38 CEST
Danish government backs removing children from gang-connected families

The justice spokesperson with senior coalition partner the Social Democrats, Bjørn Brandenborg, told regional media TV2 Fyn that he wants authorities to have the power to remove children from their families in certain circumstances where the parents are gang members.

Brandenborg’s comments came on Monday, after Odense Municipality said it had spent 226 million kroner since 2009 on social services for eight specific families with gang connections.

“There is simply a need for us to give the authorities full backing and power to forcibly remove children early so we break the food chain and the children don’t become part of gang circles,” he said.

The measure will be voted on in parliament “within a few weeks”, he said.

An earlier agreement on anti-gang crime measures, which was announced by the government last November, includes provisions for measures of this nature, Brandenborg later confirmed to newswire Ritzau.

“Information [confirming] that close family members of a child or young person have been convicted for gang crime must be included as a significant and element in the municipality’s assessment” of whether an intervention is justified, the agreement states according to Ritzau.

The relevant part of November’s political agreement is expected to be voted on in parliament this month.

READ ALSO: Denmark cracks down on gang crime with extensive new agreement

Last year, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told political media Altinget that family relations to a gang member could be a parameter used by authorities when assessing whether a child should be forcibly removed from parents.

In the May 2023 interview, Hummelgaard called the measure a “hard and far-reaching measure”.

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