(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Denmark was on high alert on Sunday after two people were killed and five wounded in gun attacks on a Copenhagen cafe hosting a freedom of speech debate and a synagogue, raising fears the Nordic country had fallen victim to militant violence.
The first attack, in broad daylight on Saturday, targeted a cafe attended by Swedish artist Lars Vilks.
Also attending a debate at the cafe was French ambassador Francois Zimeray who praised Denmark's support for freedom of speech following the January attack in Paris on the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo that killed a dozen people.
Witnesses said that barely had the envoy finished an introduction to the meeting, then up to 40 shots rang out, outside the venue, as an attacker tried to shoot inside.
Police said they considered Vilks, the main speaker, to have been the target.
A 55-year-old man died as a result of that shooting, police said early on Sunday. Police said earlier the victim was a 40-year-old man.
"We feel certain now that it was a politically motivated attack, and thereby it was a terrorist attack," Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told journalists, speaking on Saturday close to the site of the cafe.
Police said the cafe shooter had escaped in a Volkswagen Polo and a manhunt ensued with helicopters roaring overhead and the streets of Copenhagen filled with an array of armoured vehicles.
Hours later, during the night, shots were fired at a synagogue in another part of the city, about a half hour walk away from the cafe.
A man was shot in the head, and was later confirmed to have died. Two police officers were wounded.
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