Peter Madsen arrested after attempted prison escape

At 10.21 am, the Western Copenhagen Police was notified that a prisoner was attempting to escape from the Herstedvester Prison, which gave rise to large police presence in the area.

Shortly after, a Western Copenhagen Police patrol arrested a male prisoner on the run at Nyvej. 

The fugitive in question turned out to be Peter Madsen, a prisoner serving a lifetime sentence for murder.

He was handcuffed. However, since it turned out that he was wearing a suspicious-looking belt, the patrol withdrew and guarded him.

The area was roped off, and the bomb disposal experts of the Army were called for to assess the suspicious belt. 

The belt was removed from Peter Madsen and will now be investigated in detail. 

Peter Madsen is now in police custody. He will be charged with attempted prison escape under section 124 of the Danish Criminal Code and it is to be determined whether any other charges are to be brought against him. 

The Western Copenhagen Police is now investigating the circumstances of the attempted escape.

The Prosecution Service is currently assessing whether Peter Madsen is to be arraigned in a preliminary statutory hearing. No further comments will be made at this juncture.