Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked in a busy Copenhagen square on Friday night in an assault that left her “shocked,” her office said, although she was able to walk away. Police said they had made an arrest.
“We have a suspect in custody and we are now investigating the matter,” Copenhagen police said, without commenting further. The motive for the attack is unclear.
The prime minister’s office issued a statement saying she had been “beaten,” several media outlets reported, but it was unclear what injuries she had suffered.
Several Danish politicians expressed concern about the incident.
“Mette is naturally shocked by the attack,” Magnus Heunicke, Denmark’s environment minister, wrote on X. “I must say it shakes all of us who are close to her.”
Frederiksen, 46, has been prime minister since 2019. She leads the center-left Social Democrats.
The attack occurred just days before Danes are due to vote in the European Union elections.
The attack also resonated beyond Denmark’s borders, with the prime ministers of Finland and Sweden sending their support. It came less than a month after Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt that he survived.
Frederiksen was in Normandy on Thursday and gave a speech during commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day. He honored the sacrifices of Danish soldiers and extolled the virtues of freedom, saying: “Freedom is not a legacy. Freedom is a fight, a battle, a struggle. Every day. Hourly. Right now.”
kaly soto contributed reports.