EU leaders swiftly denounced the attack on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after she was “hit” by a man in a Copenhagen square on Friday, according to her office.
In a statement to AFP, the Danish prime minister’s office stated that Frederiksen was “shocked by the incident,” but it gave no other information.
“Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man Friday evening on Kultorvet in Copenhagen. The man was subsequently arrested,” the statement said.
Prior to this week’s EU elections, there have been numerous attacks in Germany on politicians from all party stripes, either at their places of employment or while they were out campaigning.
In the central town of Handlova on May 15, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot four times at close range while greeting supporters following a government meeting.
After the shooting, Fico, who had escaped the assassination attempt, was brought to a hospital in a nearby city and had two extensive surgeries.
Just before 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT), two witnesses, Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, informed the daily BT that they had witnessed Frederiksen arrive at the square as they were seated beside a nearby fountain.
“A man came by in the opposite direction and gave her a hard shove on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the side,” the two women told the newspaper.
Even though it was a “strong push,” they said, Frederiksen did not come to rest.
