There were ugly scenes in the Odense suburb of Vollsmose on the island of Funen during the night after the driver of a BMW that was being chased by police lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into a roundabout.

Police called in an ambulance to take care of the unconscious driver as a large number of angry bystanders congregated and began throwing bottles and stones at officers.

The driver was driven in a police car to a waiting ambulance some distance away as paramedics had been unable to approach the scene.

”He was driven to hospital and his condition is not critical. We know who he is and we will be talking to him, but he has not been arrested,” Duty Police Officer Hans Frederiksen tells Fyens Stiftstidende.

Unrest
The episode, however, developed during the evening and night as unrest spread, with among other acts of vandalism, two vehicles being torched. A local police patrol attempted to quieten the unrest, but had to withdraw as a result of threats and gunfire. Officers said they saw six to eight muzzle flashes.

”None of the shots hit the officers, but they were close. They could see the muzzle flashes and feel the bullets whizz past,” the duty officer tells Ritzau.