(CNN) — Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked by a man in Copenhagen on Friday, her office said in a brief statement to CNN.
It happened in Copenhagen's Kultorvet public square and the man was arrested, his office said.
The prime minister was shocked by the incident, his office told the Danish Broadcasting Society, but gave no further details.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa also expressed dismay following the attack.
“Deeply shocked by the outrageous attack on my colleague and friend, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen,” Silena said in a post on X.
“All our thoughts are with you and your loved ones. We wish him a speedy recovery,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen condemned the attack as a despicable act that goes against everything we in Europe believe in and fight for. He wished the Prime Minister strength and courage, saying he had plenty of both.
Denmark will vote in European Union elections on Sunday.
Frederiksen, the leader of Denmark's center-left Democratic Socialist Party, has served as prime minister since 2019.
It was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader in more than 20 years, just weeks after Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot dead. Political analysts and lawmakers exposed the increasingly feverish and polarized political climate in Slovakia and across Europe at the time.