(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Unidentified gunmen killed at least one person and wounded three police officers after opening fire yesterday on a cultural centre in Copenhagen hosting a debate on Islam and free speech.
Swedish artist Lars Vilks (pictured) - the author of controversial Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) cartoons that sparked worldwide protests in 2007 - was among those at the debate targeted by two gunmen who then fled the scene.
Danish Prime Minister Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt described the assault as "a terrorist attack" as Danish televion showed the windows of the Krudttonden cultural centre pock marked by multiple bullet holes.
Police released a photo of the suspect showing a man in a dark anorak and a maroon hat carrying a black bag. They described him as 25-30 years old, around 185cm (six feet) tall, with an athletic build.
French ambassador to Denmark Francois Zimeray, who had been present at the debate but was not hurt, said the shooting was an attempt to replicate the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris.
"They shot from the outside (and) had the same intention as Charlie Hebdo, only they didn't manage to get in," he said by telephone from the venue. "Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200," he said. "Bullets went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor."
A statement by Danish police said "an unidentified man died after having been hit by bullets" in the strike, and three officers were wounded in the shooting.
Police also said the Volkswagen Polo the two suspected assailants fled the scene in was found abandoned around two hours after the attack. Specialists commenting on the attack in initial media reports said it was likely automatic rifles were used in the strike in order to fire as many rounds in a short period of time.
The assault comes at a time of heightened security and rising fears of Islamist attacks, following January 7 and 9 incidents in Paris that left 17 people dead.
A series of anti-terror sweeps have been carried out across Europe since mid-January, resulting in the arrests of dozens of suspected jihadist and seizures of large stocks of weapons and explosives.
Those included January 17 raids in Belgium that thwarted what police called imminent "terrorist attacks to kill police officers on public roads and in police stations." Two suspects were killed fighting Belgian police in those sweeps.
Charlie Hebdo raised the ire of Islamist extremists by republishing cartoons by Vilks and other caricatures, and periodically satirising Islam on its own in later editions.
Vilks has been under police protection since his earlier controversial cartoons were published.
Concern of renewed attacks targeting symbols of press liberties and freedom of expression have been growing since the Charlie Hebdo strike, Reporters Without Borders secretary general Christophe Deloire said after the Copenhagen assault.
"It's something that we feared after Charlie Hebdo. We see that ultra-radical groups are leading a war against freedom of expression, against the freedom to be irreverent about religion and against the simple freedom to debate them," Deloire said.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned what he called a "terrorist attack targeting a public meeting", saying in a statement that France "remains by the side of the Danish authorities and people in the fight against terrorism." The French president's office said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was headed to the scene.
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