Around 1,000 people attended a memorial in the nightclub district of Kødbyen last night for 21-year-old law student Jonas Thomsen Sekyere, who was fatally stabbed in the nightclub Bakken early on Saturday morning.
The tribute was organised by members of Copenhagen’s nightlife community as a show of support for Sekyere’s friends and family, as well as to send a message against the carrying of weapons.
“I didn’t know Jonas, but I know that so many other intelligent 21-year-olds use Copenhagen’s nightlife as their playground,” Pelle Peter Jensen, a DJ and the co-arranger of the memorial, told the assembled crowd. “The attack against Jonas was an attack against everyone.”
Sekyere was a highly regarded young man with excellent prospects, who was brought up by a foster family from the age of ten due to the psychological problems his mother faced.
Accepted to study law at the University of Copenhagen, Sekyere was selected to chart his life at university though an online video diary, which has now been removed out of respect for the wishes of his family.
Jawad Ahmad, a friend of Sekyere’s, told The Copenhagen Post that Sekyere’s passing had left him heartbroken.
“He was incredibly intelligent, well read, charming, fun, spontaneous and a dear friend," Ahmad said. "He initiated several projects and wanted to see the world, study, publish and engage in political activism. He was destined for great things. I sincerely feel Denmark has lost a true ambassador.”
The police are still looking through video surveillance from the nightclub to try to identify the assailant. This has proven difficult because the nightclub was packed at the time of the assault, which is thought to have occurred at around 4:40am.
According to a police autopsy, Sekyere died as the result of a single stab wound through the heart, though it is unclear exactly why or where the incident took place inside the club. The autopsy also revealed that Sekyere had cuts on his hands and arms, indicating that he had attempted to defend himself from his assailant.
“It means there must have been a small fight before the fatal stabbing,” police spokesperson Carsten Ahrends told metroXpress. “And a small fight on the dancefloor could ring a bell in a potential witness. There must have been someone who saw the fight in the nightclub and therefore has information about the assailant.”
Police are asking specifically for witnesses who were in or around the toilet area of the club between 4:30am and 4:50am on Saturday morning to come forward.
