On 14—15 February , three separate shootings occurred in Copenhagen , Denmark. In total, two victims and the perpetrator were killed, while five police officers were wounded. Lars Vilks is often described as the main target because of his drawings of Muhammad.
The second shooting took place later that night after midnight, and, therefore, on the 15th , outside the city's Great Synagogue in Krystalgade. A gunman killed a young Jewish man on security duty during a bat mitzvah celebration, and wounded two police officers. The man was identified as Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein , who police said was responsible for both attacks.
Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks had been the subject of death threats from Islamic extremists in the wake of the controversy over his drawings of Muhammad in An armed man attempted to make his way into the cultural centre while avoiding the main entrance.
The attacker then fired 27 more rounds from the same weapon through the window of the cultural centre, wounding three police officers. The three Danish police officers, along with two Swedish officers assigned to protect Vilks, returned fire and the attacker fled. Other participants included FEMEN activist Inna Shevchenko , who was addressing the audience when the shooting took place; [18] [21] editor at Dagbladet Information Niels Ivar Larsen , who spoke at the meeting and later wrote a detailed account of the shooting; [21] [22] [23] and organizer Helle Merete Brix , the latter describing the attack as targeted at Vilks.
After the attack, the suspect hijacked and fled in a dark-coloured Volkswagen Polo. Police warned eyewitnesses to contact them directly, without approaching the vehicle. The Swedish police officers had the impression that they hit the attacker, and speculated that he may have worn a bulletproof vest , according to unnamed police sources speaking to Sydsvenskan.
