Two Swedish citizens suspected of an explosion at a kiosk in Østerbro, Copenhagen, are set to be extradited to Denmark within a few days. The two individuals, a 24-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, are currently in custody in Malmö, Sweden.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday evening at Hans Knudsens Plads, which is a public square. Copenhagen Police quickly responded to the scene after reports indicated that an object had been thrown into the kiosk. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of this incident. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was present with bomb-sniffing dogs and conducted a thorough investigation of the area. Images from the scene show a hole the size of a fist in the kiosk’s facade window.
Swedish police arrested the suspected man and woman shortly after the incident at the Øresund Bridge, which connects Sweden and Denmark. On Wednesday, they were charged with attempted murder and aggravated endangerment due to dangerous driving with a hand grenade or a similar explosive device through Copenhagen. As they were still in Sweden at the time, they were placed in custody in absentia during a preliminary hearing.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (Socialdemokratiet) has announced an intensified collaboration with Swedish police in light of this and other incidents involving Swedish citizens in serious crimes in Denmark. Hummelgaard noted that since April of this year alone, there have been 25 instances where criminal groups in Denmark have recruited young Swedes for illegal activities.
Most recently, a 17-year-old Swedish boy was taken into custody in a case where he is charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm after allegedly shooting at an 18-year-old man in a jewelry store in Frederiksberg, a suburb of Copenhagen. Just a few weeks ago, two Swedish teenagers were also detained, each charged with attempted murder in separate cases in Kolding and at Blågårds Plads in Copenhagen.