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| Copenhagen shootings: Suspected gunman Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein was a Danish national with a history of gang violence | Copenhagen shootings: Suspected gunman Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein was a Danish national with a history of gang violence |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The gunman suspected of killing two people after opening fire on a free speech debate and a synagogue in Copenhagen on Saturday was identified tonight as 22-year-old Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, a Danish national with a history of gang violence. | The gunman suspected of killing two people after opening fire on a free speech debate and a synagogue in Copenhagen on Saturday was identified tonight as 22-year-old Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, a Danish national with a history of gang violence. |
| Copenhagen Police said the alleged terrorist, who was killed in a shootout with officers in the early hours of Sunday morning, had previously committed “several crimes” including assault and the possession of weapons. | Copenhagen Police said the alleged terrorist, who was killed in a shootout with officers in the early hours of Sunday morning, had previously committed “several crimes” including assault and the possession of weapons. |
| Jens Madsen, the head of Denmark’s security service, said he may have been “inspired by militant Islamist propaganda issued by IS [Islamic State] and other terror organisations”. It is not yet known whether he travelled to Iraq or Syria before the attacks. | Jens Madsen, the head of Denmark’s security service, said he may have been “inspired by militant Islamist propaganda issued by IS [Islamic State] and other terror organisations”. It is not yet known whether he travelled to Iraq or Syria before the attacks. |
| Police refused to confirm the man’s identity, which was reported by Danish media. The newspaper Ekstra Bladet claimed that El-Hussein had recently been released from prison. | Police refused to confirm the man’s identity, which was reported by Danish media. The newspaper Ekstra Bladet claimed that El-Hussein had recently been released from prison. |
| At around 3.30pm on Saturday, the gunman is believed to have opened fire on Copenhagen’s Krudttønden café while a debate featuring the controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks was being held. Dressed in a heavy winter coat and wearing a maroon mask, witnesses said he fired around 40 shots. | At around 3.30pm on Saturday, the gunman is believed to have opened fire on Copenhagen’s Krudttønden café while a debate featuring the controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks was being held. Dressed in a heavy winter coat and wearing a maroon mask, witnesses said he fired around 40 shots. |
| Film director Finn Nørgaard, 55, who was attending the event, was reportedly shot dead at close range before the gunman escaped in a car, which was later found abandoned. Three police officers were also injured. Tributes are laid in front of the synagogue in Krystalgade to the victims of attacks in Copenhagen, which left two people dead | |
| More than nine hours later, at around 1am, the same man is thought to have shot 37-year-old Dan Uzan in the head as he guarded Copenhagen’s largest synagogue in a different part of the city. Two more police officers were also injured. | More than nine hours later, at around 1am, the same man is thought to have shot 37-year-old Dan Uzan in the head as he guarded Copenhagen’s largest synagogue in a different part of the city. Two more police officers were also injured. |
| The suspected killer was eventually shot dead as he returned to an address in the city’s Nørrebro district, after exchanging shots with officers who had been lying in wait. Steen Hansen, a spokesman for Copenhagen Police, told The Independent they had little doubt that he was the gunman. | The suspected killer was eventually shot dead as he returned to an address in the city’s Nørrebro district, after exchanging shots with officers who had been lying in wait. Steen Hansen, a spokesman for Copenhagen Police, told The Independent they had little doubt that he was the gunman. |
| “We are pretty confident that he was the perpetrator,” he said. “But we are still carrying out investigations to make certain, we want to be 100 per cent sure. We still believe that it was a one-man job, but we still have to take the investigation to the end and see what it brings us.” | “We are pretty confident that he was the perpetrator,” he said. “But we are still carrying out investigations to make certain, we want to be 100 per cent sure. We still believe that it was a one-man job, but we still have to take the investigation to the end and see what it brings us.” |
| Mr Steen said that after the first shooting, the gunman had taken a taxi to Nørrebro, where he was active in local criminal gangs. “We know he got a taxi to the area, and then he was seen on surveillance cameras on the area and then he was seen leaving. The police got that information some hours later, and then he came back there early in the morning,” he added. | Mr Steen said that after the first shooting, the gunman had taken a taxi to Nørrebro, where he was active in local criminal gangs. “We know he got a taxi to the area, and then he was seen on surveillance cameras on the area and then he was seen leaving. The police got that information some hours later, and then he came back there early in the morning,” he added. |
| Police also found a weapon in a nearby apartment, believed to belong to the gunman, which he may have used in the first attack. He was carrying two other guns when he was killed. | Police also found a weapon in a nearby apartment, believed to belong to the gunman, which he may have used in the first attack. He was carrying two other guns when he was killed. |
| Later, armed police raided a nearby internet cafe in an operation which they said was connected to the shootings. According to local media, at least two people were arrested. | Later, armed police raided a nearby internet cafe in an operation which they said was connected to the shootings. According to local media, at least two people were arrested. |
| The Danish intelligence service said it was investigating whether the gunman had been copying the shootings in Paris last month, when 17 people were killed in attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. | The Danish intelligence service said it was investigating whether the gunman had been copying the shootings in Paris last month, when 17 people were killed in attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. |
| Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish Prime Minister, described the killer’s actions as “a cynical act of terror” and said her country had “lived through some hours which we will never forget”. On a visit to the synagogue, where locals left a sea of flowers, she promised that she would do everything possible to protect Denmark’s Jewish community. | Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish Prime Minister, described the killer’s actions as “a cynical act of terror” and said her country had “lived through some hours which we will never forget”. On a visit to the synagogue, where locals left a sea of flowers, she promised that she would do everything possible to protect Denmark’s Jewish community. |
| “When you mercilessly fire deadly bullets at innocent people taking part in a debate, when you attack the Jewish community, you attack our democracy,” she added. | “When you mercilessly fire deadly bullets at innocent people taking part in a debate, when you attack the Jewish community, you attack our democracy,” she added. |