The Danish security intelligence agency (PET) has announced that the current threat level in Denmark will remain unchanged at ‘severe’, following the Monday truck attack on the Christmas market in Berlin.
Copenhagen police has decided to deploy more officers to patrol at Christmas markets and on the popular shopping street of Strøget, and to install concrete barriers at several locations in the city.
“Unexpected terror against groups of innocent people is very difficult to completely protect against, but we are now in collaboration with PET and the Danish National Polices taking extra precautions to ensure Copenhageners are protected as well as possible during the Christmas rush,” stated the police spokesman Peter Dahl.
“It should be emphasized that the risk of becoming a victim of a terrorist attack in Denmark remains limited.”
Police forces in other parts of the country have also decided to increase security.
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Complete security not possible
The prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, has condemned the terrorist attack, in which 12 people were killed and 49 injured, and expressed his sympathies for the bereaved.
“I am in mourning and angry. Berlin is our own backyard. There are many Danes who see Berlin as our second capital. The thought that families set off for a Christmas market to enjoy themselves and suddenly become subjected to something so horrible as we saw last night is totally unbearable,” stated Løkke yesterday afternoon at a press conference outside the German embassy in Copenhagen.
“I think that I have visited a few too many embassies here in Copenhagen to show solidarity with neighbours who have been exposed to something terrible. It [the attack] shows that our society is vulnerable. When we are up against evil forces who wish us harm, there is no method to create complete security. [But] we shall never accept it, and it should never become a part of our everyday lives.”
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No Danes harmed
Many people came to the German embassy in Copenhagen yesterday afternoon to show their solidarity with the Germans and laid flowers, memorial cards and lit candles in front of the building.
“We are deeply touched by the solidarity from our Danish friends and friends in Denmark. It means more to us than words can describe,” said the deputy of the German ambassador, Anke Meyer.
“It is important that we continue to stand together in these dark hours we have had too many of in recent times. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us who share the same values and the same vision of an open and free society.”
Although several Danes were present in Berlin when the attack took place, none was killed nor injured, and all have been accounted for.
However, the International SOS hotline received at least 10 inquiries from shocked Danes who needed psychological support.
