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Danish police say they killed the man suspected of carrying out the shooting attacks at a free speech event and a Copenhagen synagogue, which left two men dead and five police officers wounded.
While officials have not specifically confirmed Islamic terrorism was the motive, Denmark’s security service PET said the circumstances surrounding the shooting “indicate that we are talking about a terror attack.” Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators suspect he was imitating the terror attacks that took place in Paris last month, which was carried out by Islamic radicals at the Charlie Hebdo newsroom and at a kosher grocery store that left 17 dead.
“PET is working on a theory that the perpetrator could have been inspired by the events in Paris. He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others,” Madsen said.
In a video released shortly after the Paris attacks, the leader of AQAP, or al Qaeda is the Arabian Peninsula, claimed responsibility for those attacks. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Sunday that — regardless of an established motive — terror is terror.
“Denmark has been hit by terror,” Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt said on Sunday. “We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator’s actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech.”
Denmark’s Jewish Community identified the victim of the attack at the synagogue as 37-year-old Jewish man Dan Uzan, who was guarding the building during a bar mitzvah when he was shot in the head by the attacker. He later died from his injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu strongly denounced the attack and the ideology apparently behind i at tthe start of his Cabinet meeting Sunday, stating he planning to encourage a “massive immigration” of Jews from Europe.
“Again, Jews were murdered on European soil just because they were Jews,” Netanyahu said. “This wave of attacks is expected to continue, as well as murderous anti-Semitic attacks. Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home.”
The first shooting occurred Saturday evening at 4 PM local time, as police said a gunman using an automatic weapon shot some 30 rounds through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a discussion on freedom of expression, which featured controversial Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. Vilks has been repeatedly threatened by Islamic groups over his caricatures featuring the Prophet Muhammad, one of which depicted him as a dog in 2007.
Three officers were injured in the attack, but a 55-year-old man died from the injuries he sustained, authorities said. French Ambassador Francois Zimeray was speaking at the event. He tweeted shortly after the attack that he was still alive.
Still alive in the room
— Frankrigs ambassadør (@francedk) February 14, 2015
Minutes after midnight Sunday, Uzan was killed and two officers were wounded in the second shooting outside the synagogue. Investigator Joergen Skov said police approached the shooter, whose identity they have not yet disclosed, as he returned to an address that authorities were keeping under surveillance. Investigators described the suspect as between 25 to 30 years old, with an athletic build and openly carrying a black automatic weapon. A blurred image — see slide show — was released earlier Saturday.
Vilks, a 68-year-old artist, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the first shooting, which happened at a panel discussion titled “Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression.”
“What other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo,” he said, referring to the Jan. 7 attack by Islamic extremists on the French newspaper that had angered Muslims by lampooning Muhammad.
A Pennsylvania muslim woman received a 10-year prison sentence last year for planning to kill Vilks. Even mainstream Muslims believe any physical depiction — even a favorable one — of the Prophet Muhammad is blasphemy.
