(MENAFN- Gulf Times) A shooting yesterday at a Copenhagen arts venue that was hosting a debate on free speech has left one person dead and three police officers injured, Danish police said.

Police were searching for two assailants in connection with the incident, which they considered to have been an attempt to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, news agency Ritzau reported.

Vilks' caricature of the Prophet Muhammad sparked outrage in 2007.

He has received numerous death threats and has lived under the constant protection of the Swedish police since 2010.

Two years ago, an American woman who called herself Jihad Jane was sentenced to 10 years in prison for plotting to kill him.

He had been invited to address the event at the Krudttoenden cafe and arts venue where the French ambassador to Denmark was also one of the speakers.

Both Vilks and Ambassador Francois Zimeray were unharmed.

Zimeray later told that AFP the attackers were seeking to replicate the January 7 assault by jihadists in Paris on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead. Charlie Hebdo had published cartoons of the Prophet.

"They shot from the outside (and) had the same intention as Charlie Hebdo, only they didn't manage to get in," Zimeray said by telephone from the venue. "Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200."

"Bullets went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor. We managed to flee the room, and now we're staying inside because it's still dangerous. The attackers haven't been caught and they could very well still be in the neighbourhood."

Police said that the injured officers were not seriously wounded.
Authorities in southern Sweden said they were helping Danish police. Sweden is joined to Denmark by bridge, and transit across is largely unchecked.
Danish police said they did not know whether the incident was a "terrorist act" but were investigating it as one.

A dark Volkswagen Polo that police believed was used by the fleeing assailants was later found in central Copenhagen.

Witnesses said participants at the venue had to pass through metal detectors to enter the meeting hall.

Armed police had also been posted at the venue. Photos showed the building's glass doors riddled with bullet holes.

Vilks had hid in a cold storage room with one of the organisers of the meeting, Helle Merete Brix, before being whisked away by police.

Blix told Danish broadcaster TV2 that they hid as soon as they heard the shots.

"The security guards shouted 'everyone get out' and we were being pushed out of the room," she told Reuters by telephone. "They tried to shoot their way into the conference room."

"I saw one of them running by, wearing a mask. There was no way to tell his face. I'm not even sure if there was one or two," she added.

"We held each other's hands and exchanged bad jokes," she said, adding that Vilks's security detail did "a great job".
A Femen activist, Inna Shevshenko, said on Twitter that there were several dozen people in the room.

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".

Danish media said French President Francois Hollande has spoken to Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was to visit Copenhagen as soon as possible.