There was chaos yesterday evening at the Odense Hospital emergency ward after some 70 men, some of whom were armed with cudgels, swarmed into the ward to collect a man who had been knifed, shot and wounded earlier in the evening.

“We are shocked. We have never experienced this before and hopefully will never do so again,” Hospital CEO Jane Kragelund tells politiken.dk, adding that hospital employees were not hurt in the tumult.

“At the moment, the staff who were on duty are at home as they were on night duty. We will be taking care of them as best we can, as well as the patients who had a violent experience,” Kragelund adds.

According to staff, the men ripped paintings off the walls as well as breaking other items of inventory.

“They wanted to get hold of the victim. Personnel had to jump aside and some of my colleagues had to draw their pistols as they were threatened,” says Funen Police Duty Officer Erik Halkjær.

Unable to find the man they were looking for, and evicted by the police, the men left the building, smashing vehicle and other windows on their way.

According to the reports, the 26-year-old man who was shot, fell victim to an attack during an Eid al-Fitr feast at the Vollsmose Estate in Odense. The reason for the attack has not been made public.

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