One dead, 3 hurt in attack on Copenhagen free speech event
Danish PM slams terror attack at cafe hosting lecture by artist who caricatured Muhammad; French ambassador unharmed in attack
One man was killed and three policemen were wounded Saturday in a shooting in Copenhagen where a cartoonist known for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad was holding an event about free speech.
The Danish PET security service said in a statement the circumstances surrounding the shooting “indicate that we are talking about a terror attack.”
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt also referred to the incident as a terror attack, saying in a statement that “Denmark has today been hit by a cynical act of violence. Everything leads us to believe that the shooting was a political attack and therefore a terrorist act.”
Copenhagen police confirmed that a 40-year-old man was killed and three officers were injured. Two suspected gunmen fled the scene in a dark Volkswagen Polo and were at large.
Police spokesman Henrik Blandebjerg confirmed that three colleagues at the event were also shot.
“I heard someone firing with an automatic weapon and someone shouting. Police returned the fire and I hid behind the bar. I felt surreal, like in a movie,” Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told the TV2 channel.
The channel added that there were some 30 bullet holes in the window of the Krudttoenden cafe.
The cafe in northern Copenhagen, known for its jazz concerts, was hosting an event titled “Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression” when the shots were fired.
Helle Merete Brix, one of the organizers of the event, told The Associated Press that Vilks was present at the event but not injured.
“I saw a masked man running past,” she said. “A couple of police officers were injured.”
“I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks,” she added, saying she was ushered away with Vilks by one of the Danish police guards that he gets whenever he is in Denmark.
This is not the first time Vilks has been in harm’s way: The 68-year-old Swedish artist has faced several attempted attacks and death threats after he depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog eight years ago.
A Pennsylvania woman last year got a 10-year prison term for a plot to kill Vilks. In 2010 two brothers tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.
The French ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, was also present during today’s attack. The ambassador tweeted that he was “still alive” following the shooting.
Still alive in the room
— Ambassade de France au Danemark (@francedk) February 14, 2015
“Bullets went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor. We managed to flee the room, and now we’re staying inside because it’s still dangerous. The attackers haven’t been caught and they could very well still be in the neighborhood,” Zimeray said by telephone.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned the attack, saying in a statement that France “remains by the side of the Danish authorities and people in the fight against terrorism.”
The French president’s office said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was headed to the scene.
After jihadists attacked the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris last month, killing 12 people, Vilks told the AP that even fewer organizations were inviting him to give lectures over increased security concerns.
Vilks also said he thought Sweden’s SAPO security service, which deploys bodyguards to protect him, would step up the security around him.
“This will create fear among people on a whole different level than we’re used to,” he said. “Charlie Hebdo was a small oasis. Not many dared do what they did.”
