22-year-old remanded in custody for arson in gang conflict

A 22-year-old man has been remanded in custody for four weeks on charges of setting two fires in Ikast, the court in Herning ruled on Sunday evening, according to Danish broadcaster DR.

The hearing was held behind closed doors. The man is charged with, together with other unknown perpetrators, having set fire to a container of flammable liquid near an apartment at Strøgcenteret in Ikast on Sunday. The fire caused several explosions before spreading to an apartment, where a 68-year-old woman suffered injuries that were described as life-threatening.

He is also charged with, on the same evening and again with unknown accomplices, having poured flammable liquid over a van on Falkevej in Ikast and setting it on fire.

Police Inspector Hans Roost of Midt- og Vestjyllands Politi said the remand is expected to be the first of several. “That is the strategy. We have to stop this spiral of violence. We have to detain as many as possible, and we have to restore safety in Herning and Ikast again,” he said.

Police assess that the incidents are part of a gang conflict between Loyal To Familia and Comanches, citing events in recent days that include two fires, two shots fired at an apartment with a 9 mm pistol, and a hand grenade that exploded on a balcony in Herning.

Tags: arson, gang conflict, Denmark