Large police presence in Herning after explosion

A large contingent of police has deployed to a residential property on Fruehøjvej in Herning, Denmark, following reports of an explosion, DR reports. The area has been cordoned off and police say they will spend the next several hours investigating the circumstances.

No injuries have been reported in connection with the explosion.

Local residents have reacted with a mixture of concern and relative calm. Rikke Juulsgaard Krogh, a butcher at a nearby shop, said she suspects gang involvement. “I think it’s something gang-related. But it does hit close to home. There are a lot of elderly people living in the area,” she said, adding that she does not feel unsafe.

Kim Grønbæk, who lives directly across from the affected apartment, said: “Until we know what happened, I’m not thinking too much about it. But it is quite something to come home to so much police.”

Wave of unrest

The explosion follows a turbulent 24 hours in the Herning-Ikast area, which the Mid- and West Jutland Police have linked to gang-related crime. On Sunday, shots were fired at a property in Herning, and two fires in Ikast overnight between Sunday and Monday are believed to have been deliberately set.

A 68-year-old woman suffered serious burns in one of the fires and was airlifted to Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen for treatment. She is reported to be out of danger.

Police have not yet confirmed whether Monday’s explosion is connected to the earlier incidents.