At least one person was shot and killed at a free speech event in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Saturday. It was attended by controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who was not harmed.
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the shooting was a “terror” attack, and she said the whole country is on alert. The suspects in the incident have not been captured.
Vilks and his supporters had gathered at the building before at least two gunmen stormed the building and fired shots before fleeing. Vilks’ depiction of the Prophet Mohammed has angered the Muslim world.
“We have never taken any chances,” Helle Merete Brix, who is the founder of the Lars Vilks Committee, told CNN.
“What we have so much been frightened would happen happened tonight.”
Danish police say they now believe there was only one shooter in the attack that also left three police officers wounded during a free speech event.
After initially searching for two suspected gunmen, Copenhagen police said Saturday that “preliminary interviews indicate there was only one perpetrator.” Denmark’s security service called the shooting “a likely terror attack.”
Police released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.
In a statement, Danish police say they are looking for the perpetrators who drove away in a dark Volkswagen Polo after the shooting shortly before 4 p.m. (1500 GMT, 10 a.m. EST) at the Krudttoenden cafe. The police said the victim was a 40-year-old man.
Brix said there was “no doubt” the shooting was due to Vilks.
“This is ... why we set up the committee: to support Mr. Vilks and support his right to freedom of speech,” Brix said.
The killing comes just a month after gunmen shot and killed 12 people at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that depicted the Prophet Mohammed.
