One dead in new Prophet Mohammed cartoon attack
ONE man was shot dead and three policemen were wounded in an apparent Islamic extremist attempt to assassinate a cartoonist in Copenhagen.
Around 200 bullets were fired through the windows of a café packed with people at a freedom of speech and blasphemy meeting.
The event – staged more than a month after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris – was organised by Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who has previously been targeted after drawing the head of Mohammed on a dog’s body.
Both Vilks and the French ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, who was speaking at the meeting, escaped unharmed. Mr Zimeray said: ‘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 attack left people in Denmark numb with shock. Last night police said the two gunmen who escaped in a VW Polo – later found abandoned – were still at large. Dramatic images from the scene showed the windows of the Krudttoenden café riddled with bullet holes. Witnesses said the wounded were taken away on stretchers. The dead man, aged 40, was not named.
All three policemen, whose injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, were guarding the entrance when the gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons.
Helle Merete Brix, another of the organisers, saw a masked gunman run past the café. She said: ‘I clearly consider this to be an attack on Lars Vilks.’ An advert for the event, entitled Art, Blasphemy And The Freedom Of Expression, highlighted the security, saying attendees would face a rigorous safety check.