Second Copenhagen Shooting Leaves Several Injured
An unidentified gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, only hours after a similar attack at a cultural center in the city.
At the synagogue, one person died from a gunshot wound to the head and 2 police offers were shot in the arm and leg, according to AP. Danish Police have yet to state whether they consider this shooting related to the first incident.
Only hours earlier on February 14th, a masked human opened fire from outside the Krudttoenden Cafe, where an event promoting freedom of speech was being held.
Between 20-40 shots were reported by witnesses.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the event was attended by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, infamous for his 2007 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad as a dog, which sparked international outrage.
Police reported that the cafe attacker used an automatic weapon and escaped in a Volkswagen Polo. The vehicle was later found abandoned outside of Copenhagen.
The French ambassador to Denmark, Francois Zimeray, was also in attendance at the event. "I'm still a bit stunned. I was inside, I had just sat down after my speech and then I heard shots," he told French news.
Early reports are calling the attacks acts of terrorism. "We feel certain now that it was a politically motivated attack, and thereby it was a terrorist attack," Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt commented.
The suspect, still on the loose, can be seen in security camera video and a photo released by the police.
In the meantime, the city is on high alert.
Officials and civilians are making comparisons between yesterday's shootings and the events in Paris on January 17th, when two Islamist terrorists attacked the offices of magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as a kosher supermarket.