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Danish police kill Copenhagen shooting suspect Danish police kill Copenhagen shooting suspect
(about 4 hours later)
COPENHAGEN — Police in Copenhagen killed a gunman early Sunday they believe was responsible for a pair of deadly attacks just hours earlier, the first at a cafe hosting a forum on free speech and the second outside a synagogue where a bar mitzvah was underway. COPENHAGEN — Police in Copenhagen killed a gunman early Sunday they believe was responsible for a pair of deadly attacks just hours earlier, the first at a cafe hosting a forum on free speech and the second outside a synagogue where a bat mitzvah was underway.
The killings, with their eerie echo of last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, had sent Denmark’s capital into lockdown and had prompted a massive manhunt that extended across the border into Sweden. In all, the attacks left two people dead and five police officers injured. The killings, with their eerie echo of last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, had sent Denmark’s capital into lockdown and had prompted a widespread manhunt that extended across the border into Sweden. In all, the attacks left two people dead and five police officers injured.
Jens Madsen, head of the Danish security agency PET, said in a news conference Sunday that the suspect had been known to intelligence agencies and that they were investigating whether he may have been “inspired by the events in Paris.”Jens Madsen, head of the Danish security agency PET, said in a news conference Sunday that the suspect had been known to intelligence agencies and that they were investigating whether he may have been “inspired by the events in Paris.”
At a news conference on Sunday morning, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the country had been “hit by terror.”At a news conference on Sunday morning, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the country had been “hit by terror.”
“We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator’s actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark,” the prime minister said, adding that they wanted to stifle Denmark’s freedom of speech.“We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator’s actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark,” the prime minister said, adding that they wanted to stifle Denmark’s freedom of speech.
Local media identified the victims as Finn Noergaard, a 55-year-old documentary filmmaker, and 37-year-old Dan Uzan. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was time for European Jews to leave the continent and move to Israel.
Local media identified the victims as Finn Noergaard, a 55-year-old documentary filmmaker, and Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old community volunteer, who was shot in the head as he guarded the entrance to the synagogue.
Jeppe Juhl, a Danish journalist who knew Uzan, said that he was “was very active in the Jewish community. He studied economics at University of Copenhagen and for many years had worked in local security. A lovable, lovable guy.”
“He gave his life for 80 people,” Juhl said, referring to the hall behind the synagogue where about 80 people were celebrating.
Police said Sunday that they were confident that the man they fatally shot near a train station was the assailant in both attacks and that they had identified him using CCTV footage. Police were staking out a location associated with the suspect when a man approached and began shooting, prompting officers to return fire, a police official said.Police said Sunday that they were confident that the man they fatally shot near a train station was the assailant in both attacks and that they had identified him using CCTV footage. Police were staking out a location associated with the suspect when a man approached and began shooting, prompting officers to return fire, a police official said.
“The culprit that was shot by the police task force at Norreport station is the person behind both of these assassinations,” Torben Molgaard Jensen, the chief police inspector, told reporters.“The culprit that was shot by the police task force at Norreport station is the person behind both of these assassinations,” Torben Molgaard Jensen, the chief police inspector, told reporters.
Copenhagen police spokesman Steen Hansen said the suspect’s name is known but will not be revealed at this stage.Copenhagen police spokesman Steen Hansen said the suspect’s name is known but will not be revealed at this stage.
“There’s an ongoing investigation, so it’s important for the police to keep his identity to themselves,” he said. He also said a weapon was found, but it was not confirmed whether it was connected to the shootings. “There’s an ongoing investigation, so it’s important for the police to keep his identity to themselves,” Hansen said. He also said a weapon was found, but it was not confirmed whether it was connected to the shootings.
Widespread reports in the Danish media identified the gunman as Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein and said he had been recently released from prison. Danish police would not confirm the reports.
In a statement Sunday evening, police said only that the suspect was 22, Danish-born, and known to police for several crimes, including possession of weapons and a history of assault.
Survivors of the two attacks said they appeared to have been an attempt to mimic the Paris terrorist strikes, when the staff of a satirical newspaper was massacred and four hostages were fatally shot at a kosher supermarket.Survivors of the two attacks said they appeared to have been an attempt to mimic the Paris terrorist strikes, when the staff of a satirical newspaper was massacred and four hostages were fatally shot at a kosher supermarket.
The French ambassador to Denmark and a cartoonist — previously targeted for depicting the prophet Muhammad — were among those taking part in the debate at the cafe who survived the torrent of gunfire. The French ambassador to Denmark and a cartoonist — previously targeted for depicting the prophet Muhammad — were among those taking part in the debate at the cafe.
“It was the same intention as Charlie Hebdo, except they didn’t manage to get in,” the French ambassador, François Zimeray, told the news service Agence France-Presse, referring to the Jan. 7 attack in Paris on the satirical publication. “Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200. Bullets went through the doors, and everyone threw themselves to the floor.” “We feel certain now that it was a politically motivated attack, and thereby it was a terrorist attack,” Thorning-Schmidt said in an appearance near the scene of the cafe shooting. The prime minister put the country on high alert, with warnings of a possible follow-up attack.
Late into the night, police had been hunting for a lone gunman, who fled in a car and had been described as a man in his late 20s wielding an assault rifle. A photo released by Danish authorities showed him wearing a dark-blue ski jacket with a red woolen cap and a matching scarf covering the lower portion of his face. Jewish community leaders said that a bat mitzvah service was underway near the synagogue at the time of the attack there and that the man who was killed was a volunteer guard. Police protection had been stepped up at sensitive sites across the city, including synagogues, after the attack on the cafe.
Police in Sweden, which is separated from Copenhagen by a five-mile-long bridge, also joined the search. Netanyahu, condemned the attacks and called for European Jews to immigrate to Israel.
“We feel certain now that it was a politically motivated attack, and thereby it was a terrorist attack,” Thorning-Schmidt said in an appearance near the scene of the cafe shooting. Thorning-Schmidt put the country on high alert, with warnings of a possible follow-up attack. “The wave of attacks against Jews in Europe is expected to continue, and it is up to us to stay prepared,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “Jews need protection wherever they are, but we’re telling you: Israel is your home.”
Just hours later, early Sunday, police said one person was killed and two police officers were wounded in a shooting near a synagogue in downtown Copenhagen. The assailant fled on foot, police said. But Thorning-Schmidt, who placed a bouquet of flowers outside the synagogue, said of the Jewish community: “They belong in Denmark, they are a strong part of our community and we will do everything we can to protect the Jewish community in our country.”
Jewish community leaders said that a bar mitzvah service was underway inside the synagogue at the time of the attack and that the man who was killed was a young volunteer guard. Police protection had been stepped up at sensitive sites across the city, including synagogues, after the attack on the cafe. Among the countries occupied by the Germans in World War II, Denmark stood out for its determination to save its Jewish residents from deportation to the camps.
Political leaders across Europe condemned the attacks, with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls tweeting, “Freedom attacked in #Copenhagen. Solidarity with the Danes.” Not long after the shootings in Denmark, a carnival planned in the northern German city of Braunschweig was canceled over a terror threat, police said.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also condemned the attacks and called for European Jews to immigrate to Israel. The police said in a statement that there was a “concrete threat of an Islamist attack” and that they had received a tip from “reliable state security sources.” The carnival is said to attract up to 250,000 revellers, and it was canceled less than two hours before it was about to start. The police said the threat was unconnected to the shootings in Denmark.
“The wave of attacks against Jews in Europe is expected to continue, and it is up to us to stay prepared,” Netanyahu said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “Jews need protection wherever they are, but we’re telling you: Israel is your home.”
The attack was likely to add to already deep apprehensions over terrorism that are being felt across Europe as the continent contends with rising radicalism and a flood of homegrown fighters traveling to and from the battlefields of the Middle East.
Security services have said that they are overwhelmed by the scale of the threat, with an ever-growing number of possible suspects to surveil and potential targets to protect on a continent unaccustomed to regular bursts of extremist violence in its biggest cities.
A carnival planned in the northern German city of Braunschweig was canceled Sunday over a terrorism threat, police said. They said that there was a “specific threat of an Islamist attack” and that they had received a tip from “reliable state security sources,” according to AFP. The carnival, said to attract up to 250,000 revelers, was canceled less than two hours before it was to start. Police said the threat was unconnected to the shootings in Denmark.
The target of Saturday’s earlier attack was a north Copenhagen cafe, the Krudttonden, that is well-known for its jazz performances. On Saturday afternoon, it was hosting a community discussion titled “Art, Blasphemy and the Freedom of Expression.”The target of Saturday’s earlier attack was a north Copenhagen cafe, the Krudttonden, that is well-known for its jazz performances. On Saturday afternoon, it was hosting a community discussion titled “Art, Blasphemy and the Freedom of Expression.”
Among the organizers was Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who has received death threats over his depiction of the prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog in 2007. An al-Qaeda faction placed a bounty on his head, and an American woman calling herself Jihad Jane was sentenced in 2014 to 10 years in prison for plotting to kill Vilks.
In recent years, Vilks, 68, has had constant police protection.
Vilks had security guards with him at the cafe Saturday and was unharmed in the attack. The French ambassador was also unhurt by the hail of bullets, which left dozens of jagged holes in the cafe’s plate-glass windows.
Last month’s attack on Charlie Hebdo, in which editors and cartoonists were among 12 people killed, was thought to have been motivated by the magazine’s depictions of Muhammad. Twenty people in all were killed over three days of violence in Paris, including three assailants, all of whom grew up in France.
Police said the assailant in the Copenhagen cafe attack spoke Danish. He unleashed his fusillade of gunfire in the middle of the afternoon, with dozens of people gathered to hear Vilks, Zimeray and others discuss the limits of free expression in the age of terrorism.
Inna Shevchenko, an activist with the feminist group Femen, said she was in the middle of a speech, telling the audience that “often it is an illusion that we have freedom of speech in Europe,” according to tweets she later sent.
“Then we heard shots.”
In audio of the moment the gunman struck that was posted online by the BBC, a woman can be heard speaking before she is interrupted by a volley of gunfire.
“I realize that every time we talk about the activity of those people there will be always, ‘Yes, it is freedom of speech, but,’ ” the woman says. “And the turning point is ‘but.’ Why do we still say ‘but’ when we . . . ”
The shots were steady and sustained. From inside the cafe, the sounds are of chairs sliding along the floor as people dive for cover. No one screams.
Survivors said police who had been standing guard outside the cafe returned fire. The three injured officers were apparently among those who had been standing guard.
Inside the cafe, survivors said, the reaction was remarkably calm.
“We could not get away, so we continued our discussion,” Helle Merete Brix, one of the organizers, told Denmark’s TV2 News.
The attack at Charlie Hebdo has ignited passionate debate across Europe over the right of free expression and whether speech that insults a particular religion or group should be protected. The latest iteration of the debate has roots in Denmark, where in 2005 the newspaper Jyllands-Posten set off a global furor after publishing cartoons of Muhammad, an act that many Muslims consider blasphemous.
Vilks has been an outspoken advocate for free expression. The Lars Vilks Committee, established to support him, gave its 2014 prize to Charlie Hebdo, just three months before the magazine’s staff was massacred.
Saturday’s event was timed to mark the anniversary of a religious edict against the author Salman Rushdie, who was threatened with death by Islamist extremists and lived in hiding for years after publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses.”Saturday’s event was timed to mark the anniversary of a religious edict against the author Salman Rushdie, who was threatened with death by Islamist extremists and lived in hiding for years after publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses.”
Adam reported from London. Adam reported from London. Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed to this report.