Shootings in Copenhagen rock Europe
Shootings in Copenhagen rock Europe
Europe has been left reeling after yet another series of fatal shootings in the region.
An afternoon of debate on art, blasphemy and, ironically, freedom of expression at the Krudttønden cafe in Copenhagen quickly turned to panic on Saturday after a masked gunman opened fire, riddling the windows with bullets.
The target for the initial shooting was believed to be the guest speaker at the debate, Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who depicted the prophet Muhammad as a dog in a 2007 cartoon, and who has received death threats ever since as a result.
According to news reports, Inna Shevchenko, a leader of the Ukrainian protest group Femen, was talking to an audience of about 30 people on the danger of gunmen and shootings suppressing free speech when the bullets started flying.
Multiple rounds were fired and resulted in the death of 55-year-old Finn Nørgaard, a respected film director who had attended the free speech seminar. France’s ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, was also among the guests at the afternoon seminar. There were a dozen guards, including both uniformed and plainclothes police officers present and bags had been searched and checked prior to the event.
Three police officers were wounded at the scene, but Vilks remain unharmed as his guards pushed him into a catering store room for safety. A manhunt ensued thereafter with police using the surveillance footage to try and track down the killer.
Copenhagen police subsequently increased security at the city’s main synagogue in the Krystalgade area, where 80 people were due to celebrate a bat mitzvah. At 12.45am the gunman reappeared and approached the group and started shooting. An officer was shot in the leg and another in the arm but they remain in a stable condition. Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old who was a guard at the bat mitzvah was killed.
The second shooting and subsequent death increased pressure on police to apprehend the gunman. Shortly before 5 am on Sunday morning they shot dead a 22-year-old Danish-born citizen.
It is believed his actions were possibly inspired by a similar attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, authorities said.
Danish spy chief Jens Madsen told the media that the gunman was known to intelligence services prior to the shooting and had most likely acted alone. Police confirmed the gunman had a record of violence, gang-related activities and weapons possession.
- Investigative personnel work at the scene of a cafe shooting in Oesterbro, in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed the man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue.
- Forensic experts work at the site where a man was killed by police, close to Norrebro Station, in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed the man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue.
- Investigative personnel work at the scene of a cafe shooting in Oesterbro, in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed the man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue.
- Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt places flowers in front of the synagogue in Krystalgade in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed a man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue. Thorning-Schmidt described the first shooting, which bore similarities to an assault in Paris in January on the office of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, as a terrorist attack.
- A policeman places flowers close to the scene of a cafe shooting in Oesterbroin in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed the man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue.
- A policeman and his dog work in a cordoned off area in a street near Norrebro Station following shootings in Copenhagen February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed a man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue.
- Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt arrives at the synagogue in Krystalgade in Copenhagen to show her sympathy, February 15, 2015. Danish police shot and killed a man in Copenhagen on Sunday they believe was responsible for two deadly attacks at an event promoting freedom of speech and on a synagogue. Thorning-Schmidt described the first shooting, which bore similarities to an assault in Paris in January on the office of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, as a terrorist attack.
- A man observes a moment of silence at a memorial for the victims of the deadly attacks in front of the synagogue in Krystalgade in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Police shot dead a gunman on Sunday whose attacks on a Copenhagen synagogue and an event promoting free speech may have been inspired by an attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo last month, authorities said.
- Denmark’s flag is seen next to candles in front of Denmark’s embassy in Paris during gathering to pay tribute to the victims of the deadly attacks in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015. Police shot dead a gunman on Sunday whose attacks on a Copenhagen synagogue and an event promoting free speech may have been inspired by an attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo last month, authorities said. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
- Controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks is seen in Nyhamnslage January 3, 2012. Three police were injured on February 14, 2015, after a shooting in the Danish capital of Copenhagen attended by Vilks, Danish Ritzau news agency reported. Police confirmed a shooting and said suspects fled the scene in a car. Vilks stirred controversy in 2007 with published drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a dog which sparked threats from Islamist militant groups.