A father was arrested at a shopping center in Copenhagen on suspicion of aggravated assault against his son inside the center.

Update: The father (in his mid-forties) has been placed in pretrial detention.

At the City2 Shopping Center in Taastrup, on the outskirts of the Danish capital, police arrested a man in his forties on charges of “serious assault” on his three-year-old son inside the shopping center, according to local media.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when police received a report from a shopper at the mall stating that a man had struck his child twice in the face inside the mall. According to the report, the child fell to the ground after the two blows, prompting a witness to call the police and report what had happened.

After receiving the report, police patrols went to the scene, where officers from West Copenhagen Police (Københavns Vestegns Politi) arrested the man at the scene. Police duty officer Bo Nyberg Ris said the report reached the police at around 2:25 p.m., noting that initial information indicated the child had received two blows to his face before falling to the ground.

The man has been charged with aggravated assault under Danish criminal law. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing, known as a “grundlovsforhør,” on Sunday morning at the Glostrup District Court, where a judge will decide whether he will be remanded in custody while police continue their investigation.

Authorities have not yet released any further details regarding the child's health. The father's name and any identifying information have also not been published, which is standard practice in Denmark, especially when the case involves a minor.