Danish police charge two with aiding Copenhagen shooter
Two charged with helping through advice and deeds the perpetrator of the shootings at a Copenhagen free speech event and synagogue; the two were arrested on Sunday.
"The two men are charged with helping through advice and deeds the perpetrator in relation to the shootings at Krudttonden and in Krystalgade," the police said in a statement, referring to the location of the two attacks.
The police had no further comment.
The gunman suspected in the deadly Copenhagen attacks was a 22-year-old with a history of violence and may have been inspired by Islamic terrorists - and possibly the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said Sunday.
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt mourned the two people killed and vowed to protect freedom of speech and Denmark's Jewish community.
The suspect was killed in a gunbattle with a SWAT team early Sunday. He had opened fire Saturday at a cultural center hosting a seminar on free speech with an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and then later at security forces outside a synagogue, police said.
A Danish filmmaker was killed in the first attack. Nine hours later, a security guard protecting a bat mitzvah near a synagogue was slain. Five police officers were wounded in the shootings.
Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman "could have been inspired by the events in Paris." Last month Islamic militants carried out a massacre at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery, killing 17 people.
"He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others," Madsen said.
Copenhagen police made no mention of Islamic extremism and said the Danish-born suspect had a history of violence and weapons offenses and connections to a criminal gang. They didn't release his name.
"Denmark has been hit by terror," Thorning-Schmidt said. "We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator's actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech."
Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior identified the security guard as Dan Uzan, a 27-year-old member of Denmark's 7,000-strong Jewish community. Two police officers who were near the synagogue were slightly wounded.
In the earlier shooting, 55-year-old filmmaker Finn Noergaard was killed while attending a panel discussion titled "Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression."
One of the main speakers was Lars Vilks, a 68-year-old Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. Vilks, who was whisked away unharmed by bodyguards, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target.
