Danish police shoot man suspected of two terrorist attacks in Copenhagen, which left two dead and five injured.
Danish police have killed the man suspected of two shootings in Copenhagen. The earlier attacks left two people dead and five injured in what the police called terrorist attacks.
Police said the suspect approached premises in the Dansih capital which were under surveillance and refused to stop when ordered to do so by the police. The man opened fire and was shot by officers.
The incident followed two earlier attacks, the first a free speech event where a Swedish cartoonist who had once drawn the prophet Muhammed as a dog was speaking. The second attack was at a synagogue. One person was killed during each incident.
Police have pointed to similarities between yesterday’s events and the murders at the magazine Charlie Hebdo in January.
Denmark’s prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, said on Sunday:
Two innocent people have lost their lives as a result of a cynical terrorist act against Denmark.
Nobody should get away with attacking the open, free and democratic Danish society.
The first attack was at an event where the Swedish Cartoonist Lars Vilks and France’s ambassador to Denmark, Francois Ziumeray, were speaking. Vilks had to hide in a cold room during the attacks. According to one of the event’s organisers who stayed with Vilks in the room, the two held hands and told jokes “what else can you do in such a situation?”
Zimeray spoke to AFP after the attack, comparing the incident to the Charlie Hebdo atrocity.
They fired on us from the outside. It was the same intention as Charlie Hebdo except they didn't manage to get in.