ISIL may have inspired Danish gunman
May have been inspired by ISIL and Paris attacks, intelligence chief says
The slain gunman suspected in the deadly Copenhagen attacks was a 22-year-old with a history of violence and may have been inspired by Islamic terrorists — and possibly the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said Sunday.
The suspect, named as Omar elHussein, had reportedly been released from prison two weeks ago after serving a two-year sentence for grievous bodily harm.
Prime Minister Helle ThorningSchmidt mourned the two people killed and vowed to protect freedom of speech and Denmark’s Jewish community.
The suspect was killed in a gunfight with a SWAT team early Sunday. He opened fire Saturday at a cultural centre hosting a seminar on free speech with an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and later at security forces outside a synagogue, police said.
A Danish filmmaker was killed in the first attack. Nine hours later, a security guard protecting a bat mitzvah near a synagogue was slain. Five police officers were wounded in the shootings.
Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman “could have been inspired by the events in Paris.” Last month, Islamic militants carried out a massacre at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery, killing 17 people.
“He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others,” Madsen said.
Copenhagen police made no mention of Islamic extremism and said the Danish-born suspect had a history of violence and weapons offences and connections to a criminal gang.
“Denmark has been hit by terror,” Thorning-Schmidt said. “We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator’s actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech.”
Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior identified the security guard as Dan Uzan, a 27-year-old member of Denmark’s 7,000-strong Jewish community. Two police officers who were near the synagogue were slightly wounded.
In the earlier shooting, 55-yearold filmmaker Finn Noergaard was killed while attending a panel discussion titled Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression.
One of the main speakers was Lars Vilks, a 68-year-old Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. Vilks, unharmed, was whisked away by bodyguards; he said he believed he was the target.
Agnieszka Kolek, another panellist, said she heard shouts of “God is great” in Arabic. “Lars was being evacuated. Everyone was trying to protect themselves and others,” she said. “We heard the gunshots approaching, so I thought that the gunman must be in the building. And then I thought obviously I must protect myself and I tried to find a place to hide,” she said.
After the shooting, she and other participants continued the discussion as an act of defiance, Kolek said.
World leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, condemned the Copenhagen attacks.
French President François Hollande visited the Danish Embassy in Paris on Sunday, and hundreds gathered outside to show solidarity with victims.
“We need to stand together in Europe and … wherever jihadis try to threaten democracy,” said Sacha Reingewirtz, president of the Union of Jewish Students of France and an organizer of the memorial.
Also at the event was Patrick Pelloux, a medic and columnist for Charlie Hebdo. “We are all Danish tonight,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government plans to encourage a “massive immigration” of Jews from Europe.
But Thorning-Schmidt expressed support for the Jewish community, saying: “They belong in Denmark — and we will do everything we can to protect the Jewish community in our country.”