Copenhagen police kill attacker after shootings

A police vehicle cordons off the area near one of the shootings in the Danish capital Copenhagen [Xinhua]

 

Danish police say they have killed the attacker involved in two earlier shootings at a cafe and synagogue in the capital Copenhagen, which left two dead.

The attacker was killed in a suburb of the capital early on Sunday after he had opened fire on police at train station.

The police say they used video surveillance to identify the single attacker.

The first shooting occurred at around 4pm local time at a popular Krudttoenden cafe where Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had previously published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, was giving a lecture on freedom of speech.

Witnesses said the shooter was wearing a mask and was attempting to shoot into the cafe.

A 55-year-old man was shot and killed in the shooting, and three police officers injured, security officials said. Vilks, 68, was not harmed, but many at the venue believed he was the intended target of the shooting.

Hours later, a Jewish man was shot in the head and killed outside a synagogue in Krystalgade, east of Copenhagen, just two miles from the cafe. Two police officers were also wounded in the attack.

The attacker left the scene on foot, witnesses said.

Just before midnight, police said they came under fire at the Nørrebro Station near the synagogue. They returned fire and killed the man, but it was unclear if he was involved in the synagogue shooting.

Although police have not yet identified the man, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told the media that she believed the attacks were politically motivated and called them acts of terrorism.

Source: Agencies