Police: Denmark gunman possibly inspired by Paris attacks

Copenhagen police said Sunday that the two shootings Saturday in the Danish capital were carried out by a gunman who may have been influenced by last month’s Paris terror attacks at the headquarters of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and at the Hyper Cacher supermarket.

Two people, including Dan Uzan, a security guard in his late 30s and member of the Copenhagen Jewish community, were killed and five police officers were wounded in the shootings, stirring fears that another terror spree was under way in a European capital a month after 17 people were killed in the Paris attacks.

On Sunday, police said they shot and killed the man they believed had carried out both shootings. The shootings took place at a free-speech event featuring an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and, hours later, outside a synagogue in the Danish capital.

Uzan was killed outside the synagogue, which he was guarding at the time.

Police have not yet released information on the identity or motives of the attacker.

The suspect on Sunday was identified in several Danish media outlets as Omar El-Hussein. Ekstra-Bladet, a Danish tabloid, reported that the 22-year-old, Danish-born man was released from jail only two weeks ago after serving a term for aggravated assault.

The first shooting happened shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday. Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a panel discussion on freedom of expression following the Paris attacks. A 55-year-old man attending the event was killed, while three police officers were wounded. Two officers belonged to the Danish security service PET, which said the circumstances surrounding the shooting “indicate that we are talking about a terror attack.”

The gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was later found a few kilometers away, police said.

Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad, was one of the main speakers at the event, titled “Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression.” He was whisked away by his bodyguards unharmed as the shooting began.

Vilks, 68, later told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the shooting.

“What other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo,” he said, referring to the January 7 attack by Islamic extremists on the French newspaper that had angered Muslims by lampooning Muhammad.

Police spokesman Joergen Skov said it was possible the gunman had planned the “same scenario” as in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

After searching for the first gunman for hours, police reported the second shooting in downtown Copenhagen after midnight Sunday. Wadsworth-Hansen said that a gunman opened fire at two police officers outside the synagogue. They were wounded in the arms and legs but were not in life-threatening condition, while a civilian man was killed. The gunman fled on foot.

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Police initially said there were two gunmen at the cultural center but later said they believed there was only one shooter. They described him as 25-30 years old with an athletic build and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.

Parts of the Danish capital were cordoned off after the shooting near the synagogue, but “it’s not a question of a general curfew. People are allowed to travel around Copenhagen, safely,” Wadsworth-Hansen said.

In a post on its Twitter account, the Danish Emergency Management Agency urged people in central Copenhagen to text “I’m okay” to their families.

Visiting the scene of the first shooting, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called it a “political attack and therefore an act of terror.”

Thorning-Schmidt later visited the synagogue, and laid a wreath of flowers in memory of the victims.

François Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark who was at the event to speak about the Charlie Hebdo attack, tweeted that he was “still alive.” Police said he was not wounded.

French President Francois Hollande called the Copenhagen shooting “deplorable” and said Thorning-Schmidt would have the “full solidarity of France in this trial.” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was arriving Sunday in Copenhagen.

Leaders across Europe condemned the violence and expressed support for Denmark. Sweden’s security service said it was sharing information with its Danish counterpart, while US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said US officials were ready to help with the investigation and have been in touch with their Danish counterparts.

At the request of Jewish community leaders in Copenhagen, ZAKA International Rescue Unit Chief Officer Mati Goldstein and ZAKA International Rescue Unit Chief of Operations Chaim Weingarten were scheduled to leave Sunday for Denmark, to help ensure a full Jewish burial for the victim of the attack at the synagogue.

At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deadly shooting attack in the Copenhagen synagogue would not mark the end of extremist Muslim terror attacks against European Jews.

“We send our condolences to the Danish people, and also to the Jewish community in Denmark,” said Netanyahu. “Once again Jews are murdered on the soil of Europe just for being Jews. This wave of terror attacks is expected to continue, including these murderous anti-Semitic attacks.”

In his statement, Netanyahu called on the Danish Jewish community to move to Israel.

“Obviously Jews deserve protection in every country, but we say to the Jews, to our brothers and sisters: ‘Israel is your home,’” he told cabinet ministers in a prepared statement.

“We are preparing for a wave of mass aliya [Jewish immigration] from Europe; we are calling for a wave of mass aliya from Europe. I want to tell all the Jews of Europe, and Jews wherever they may be: ‘Israel is the home of every Jew… Israel awaits you with open arms,’” he said.

Chief rabbi of Denmark Yair Melchior condemned Netanyahu’s call for immigration to Israel, saying he was “disappointed” with the prime minister’s statement.

“People from Denmark move to Israel because they love Israel, because of Zionism. But not because of terrorism,” said Melchior. “If the way we deal with terror is to run somewhere else, we should all run to a deserted island.”

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who also serves as Israel’s Diaspora affairs minister, spoke to Jewish community leaders in Denmark Sunday and offered his condolences.

“The State of Israel stands by you in this difficult time, ready to assist in any way,” Bennett said, according to a statement from his office. “We can’t accept that Jews are simply shot on the streets of Europe. We will not let Jews become easy targets for anti-Semitic attacks.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said terror incidents in Copenhagen over the weekend prove the need for “a truly uncompromising war against Islamic terror and its causes.”

The Jews, Liberman said, were the canary in the coalmine.

“The string of terror incidents in Copenhagen, at the synagogue and at the free-speech event, prove what we have been saying for years, that Israel and the Jews are the first to experience this terror because they are the front line in the terror war against the West and the entire free world,” the foreign minister insisted.

“The international community in its entirety cannot be satisfied with declarations and demonstrations against this terror, but must throw off the rules of political correctness and conduct and a truly uncompromising war against Islamic terror and its causes,” continued Liberman.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry was in constant contact with the Israeli Embassy in Denmark and is closely following the events, a statement from Liberman’s office said.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder also condemned the shootings and urged the Danish government to find those responsible, while stepping up efforts to protect the local Jewish community against rising anti-Semitic violence.

“The World Jewish Congress deplores these despicable attacks, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community and the people of Denmark,” said Lauder. “We are confident the Danish government will take all necessary measures to bring those responsible for these attacks to justice, and we urge them to help secure the local Jewish community against anti-Semitic violence.

“These attacks in Copenhagen follow the similar, brutal targeting of Jews and others in Paris and across Europe,” continued Lauder. “European governments should recognize that we are facing a vicious new wave of anti-Semitism and violence. It is crucial that Europe contends with this growing threat.”

AP, AFP and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.