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There is a pattern evolving, from Sydney, to the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, and now, in Copenhagen. In each case the alleged killer was 'known to police' and was shot dead by the police.
Copenhagen
shootings suspect was 'known to police'
Suspect
shot dead in Denmark’s capital after one person was gunned down at
cafe and another at a synagogue
From al-Jazeera
19
February, 2014
The
gunman shot dead by police after a double terror attack on a cafe and
a synagogue in Copenhagen that claimed two lives was known to Danish
intelligence, the head of the country’s security service has said.
Jens
Madsen said the suspected killer may have been “inspired by
militant Islamist propaganda issued by IS [Islamic State] and other
terror organisations”, but it was not yet known whether he had
travelled to Iraq or Syria before the attacks.
The
suspect was from Copenhagen but has not been named. He had been “on
the radar” of the intelligence services, police said. They have
recovered a weapon believed to have been used in the first attack.
Armed
Danish police raided an internet cafe in a major operation in
Copenhagen near the spot where officers killed the suspected gunman
behind fatal shootings, local media said.
The
killings began at about 3.30pm local time on Saturday, when a man
attacked the Krudttønden cafe during a debate featuring the
controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had depicted the prophet
Muhammad in cartoons. Finn Nørgaard, 55, a film director attending
the event, was reportedly shot dead at close range after going
outside for an unknown reason at the time the attacker struck.
At
about 1am, 37-year-old Dan Uzan was killed while guarding the
synagogue in Krystalgade during
a bat mitzvah celebration. Two police officers were also hit, but
their injuries were said not to be life-threatening.
The
Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, condemned what she
called “a
cynical act of terror”
and said she was “happy and relieved that police have disarmed the
suspected perpetrator behind the two shootings”. She said Denmark
had “lived through some hours which we will never forget”.
Vilks,
who was unhurt after the gunman was unable to enter the cafe, said he
believed he was the target of the first attack.
“What
other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by
Charlie Hebdo,” he said, referring to the killing
of 12 people at the offices of the Paris-based satirical magazine by
Islamist terrorists last month. Vilks depicted Muhammad as a dog in
2007 and has been the subject of repeated attacks and death threats.
A
police operation was under way on Sunday, with officers searching a
flat in the residential area of Mjølnerparken, in the Nørrebro
district of the city, near where the suspect was shot and killed in
the early hours of the morning.
Israel’s
prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said the attack at Copenhagen’s
main synagogue should encourage Jews to leave Europe,
in comments that disappointed Jair Melchior, Denmark’s chief rabbi.
His
reaction was in stark contrast to that of Thorning-Schmidt, who
called for unity in Denmark. Speaking outside the synagogue on Sunday
morning, she said: “The Jewish community is a large and integrated
part of Danish society … We are together with you in your grief …
Together we will shield Denmark from
the kind of attack we saw last night.”
The
British prime minister, David Cameron, condemned the attacks, writing
on Twitter: “Free speech must always be protected. My thoughts are
with the Danish people.”
In
Washington, the White House said the attack was deplorable and
offered assistance in the investigation.
clA
photo issued by Danish police showing a suspect in the Copenhagen
shooting. Photograph: Copenhagen Police/AP
The
first attack was thought to have been an attempt to murder Vilks, who
survived after taking shelter in a cold store. Three police were
wounded in the shooting, in which the cafe was sprayed with bullets.
The
event at the cafe, known for its jazz concerts, had been organised by
Vilks. It was entitled Art, Blasphemy and the Freedom of Expression
and had been subject to tight security, with people searched as they
entered.
Police
later shot dead a suspect who had arrived at an inner-city address
they had under surveillance. Officers described the deceased man as
“a person who could be interesting in relation to the
investigation”. They said after police called out to him near a
railway station in the inner-city neighbourhood of Nørrebro “he
opened fire against the police and was thereafter shot”.
Police
said afterwards they believed the suspect was responsible for both
attacks and, while investigations continued, they had no initial
indications that more than one person was involved.
Dan
Rosenberg Asmussen, the head
of Copenhagen’s Jewish community,
paid tribute to the man killed at the synagogue. He told the Danish
newspaper Berlingske: “Dan and his family have paid an unreasonably
high price. We are grateful for people who do something to ensure we
can conduct Jewish service.
Dan was one of those. Many people can be
grateful that he was there last night.”
The
French ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, was at the cafe when
the first shooting took place. “They fired on us from the outside.
It was the same intention as Charlie Hebdo except
they didn’t manage to get in,” he told Agence France-Press.
“Bullets
went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor.
Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the
police here are saying
Helle
Merete Brix, one of the organisers of the event, told TV2 News that
she and Vilks hid in the cold store of the cafe during the attack.
She
said: “I was in a cold room and kept hold of Lars Vilks’s hand.
He was very cool. We stood and told each other bad jokes. His
bodyguards did a tremendous job. It is a dramatic and unpleasant
reminder of what we are up against in these times.”
Later
she told the Associated Press that she had seen a masked man running
past. She added: “I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars
Vilks,” saying she was eventually ushered away with Vilks by one of
his Danish police guards.
Police examine the bullet-marked cafe where the first attack took place. Photograph: Mathias Oegendal/EPA
On
Saturday night, reports suggested police had found a VW Polo
abandoned a short drive from the city’s cultural centre, which may
have been the getaway car in the first attack.
Jodie
Ginsberg, the chief executive of Index on Censorship, said: “The
use of violence on a gathering exploring the intersection of
religious and artistic freedom should send shivers down our spines.
The Charlie Hebdo murders
inspired intensified public debate about free speech and its value.
“Many
people who had previously given little thought to free speech were
drawn for the first time into online discussions or attended events
to help them get a better understanding of the issues. It would be
terrible if violent acts such as that in Copenhagen shut down free
speech even further.”
Vilks,
68, provoked condemnations from governments including those of Iran,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Jordan when he depicted the prophet
Muhammad as a dog in 2007, and has since faced several attacks and
death threats.
He
has described himself as a constant target. Several art galleries in
Sweden declined to show the drawings, citing security concerns and
fear of violence.
A
Pennsylvania woman received a 10-year prison term last year for a
plot to kill Vilks, while in 2010 two brothers tried to burn down his
house in southern Sweden. He has lived since under heavy security and
now travels with police protection when in Denmark.
After
the Charlie Hebdo attack,
Vilks told the Associated Press that even fewer organisations were
inviting him to give lectures. He also said he thought Sweden’s
Säpo security service, which deploys bodyguards to protect him,
would step up his security. “This will create fear among people on
a whole different level than we’re used to,” he said. “Charlie
Hebdo was a small oasis. Not many dared do what they did.”
Vilks
also spoke to the
Wall Street Journal about
the Charlie Hebdoattacks, and said he refused to hide away. He added:
“Police protection doesn’t offer a 100% guarantee as we saw with
Charlie Hebdo but
it goes pretty far. I don’t have to lie awake at night listening
for odd sound.”
Denmark
has seen a number of controversies featuring the prophet Muhammad. In
2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
depicted him as a terrorist with a bomb,
sparking widespread unrest. Vilks was not one of the artists
involved.
