#copenhagen – photo of bullet holes at "Krudttønden", scene of shooting – HT @MagnusBjerg: pic.twitter.com/Xcl4o7FgLd
— Line Holm (@LineHolm1) February 14, 2015
The organizer of the event, Lars Vilks had previously faced attacks for drawing a caricature of Mohammed as a dog in 2007.
Via AP:
Danish media say several shots have been fired at a cafe in Copenhagen where a meeting about freedom of speech was being held, organized by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2007.
The TV2 channel said Saturday there were some 30 bullet holes in the window of the Krudttoenden cafe and said at least two people were taken away on stretchers, including a uniformed police officer.
Helle Merete Brix, one of the organizers of the event, told The Associated Press that Vilks was present at the event but not injured. When the artist is in Denmark, he receives police protection.
The cafe in northern Copenhagen, known for its jazz concerts, was hosting an event titled “Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression” when the shots were fired.
Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told the TV2 channel that he saw two wounded people.
The French Ambassador to Denmark was in the cafe and tweeted out the following:
Still alive in the room
— Frankrigs ambassadør (@francedk) February 14, 2015
Via Reuters:
One civilian was killed and three police were injured, the suspects fled.
Danish police confirmed one civilian had been killed and said the two suspects had fled in a car after the attack on the gathering, which had been billed as a debate on art and blasphemy.
Vilks and the French ambassador, who was also attending, were both unharmed.
“The security guards shouted ‘everyone get out’ and we were being pushed out of the room,” Helle Merete Brix, organizer of the event, told Reuters by telephone.
“They tried to shoot their way into the conference room,” she said. “I saw one of them running by, wearing a mask. There was no way to tell his face. I’m not even sure if there was one or two.”
French ambassador Francois Zimeray tweeted that he was “still alive in the room”.
“They shot us from outside the building, it was the same intention as for Charlie Hebdo, except that they couldn’t get in,” French news agency AFP quoted him as saying.
Police commander Henrik Blandebjerg told local TV there were two assailants. The dead civilian man was 40 years old. Police with searchlights scoured the area for evidence and said a getaway car was found 10 minutes away on the outskirts of the capital.
Sweden’s security police said Swedish bodyguards were with Vilks at the time of the shooting.
Update:
#Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt says the #Copenhagen shooting is a terrorist attack and the whole country is on high alert
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) February 14, 2015
You may recall Helle Thorning-Schmidt from the Nelson Mandela funeral, she of the selfie giggles with Obama. Yet, even she is able to call terrorism terrorism when she sees it.
Police have released a picture of the suspect who is still on the loose.
Police in #Denmark release image of the suspected #copenhagen shooter pic.twitter.com/JYzf9rcgWR
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) February 14, 2015
Social media threats against Denmark had been made from ISIS connected accounts, like this one:
