Herning police name rival gangs behind weeks of shootings and arson

Danish police have identified two criminal groups—Nord-Gruppen and Øst-Gruppen—as the factions locked in a violent conflict behind recent shootings, explosions, and arson in Herning, according to an internal memo obtained by public broadcaster DR.

The National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) confirmed in the document that the feud has escalated to include “gross violence,” with both groups using knives, firearms, and explosives. Investigators believe each faction has carried out multiple attacks against the other, including deliberate fires.

Local police have established search zones in the eastern and northern districts of Herning, areas corresponding to the groups’ names. However, Midt- og Vestjyllands Police investigation leader Hans Roost dismissed any deeper significance to the labels, stating they were “arbitrary” and “could have been called anything.”

Authorities previously linked the groups to broader organized crime networks, though Roost clarified they are not motorcycle gangs. “They meet with them, they talk with them,” he told Herning Folkeblad last week.

The conflict has already drawn reinforcements from police units across Jutland, Copenhagen, and NSK investigators. Under Danish law, crimes committed as part of a gang conflict can carry double penalties, and courts may impose area bans on convicted members.

A 68-year-old woman unrelated to the feud suffered severe burns in a May 17 arson attack on her Ikast apartment. She remains hospitalized but is no longer in life-threatening condition. Police confirmed the incident was tied to the gang conflict.