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This article documents a current shooting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (February 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

2015 Copenhagen shootings
KrudttøndenNørrebro stationGreat Synagogue2015 Copenhagen shootings (Copenhagen)
Location	Serridslevvej 2, 2100 København Ø Krystalgade 12, 1172 København K Svanevej, 2400 København NV
Date	14 February 2015; 9 years ago (2015-02-14) (UTC+1)
Attack type	Mass shooting, spree shooting, terrorism
Weapons	M/95 and a pistol
Deaths	3 total: 1 (Krudttønden) 1 (Great Synagogue) 1 (near Nørrebro Station; suspected perpetrator)
Injured	5 total: 3 (Krudttønden) 2 (Great Synagogue)

A shooting spree occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark, starting on the afternoon of 14 February 2015.

The first shooting took place at 15:33 CET at the Krudttønden cultural centre. It occurred during a public seminar called "Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression" to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini that called for the killing of writer Salman Rushdie. A gunman killed one civilian and wounded three police officers. Swedish artist Lars Vilks was in attendance and is thought to be Vilks the main target due to a controversy over his drawings of Muhammad. The French ambassador to Denmark, François Zimeray, was also in attendance.

The second shooting took place about nine hours later, at 00:50 CET on the morning of 15 February, near the city's Great Synagogue in Krystalgade. A gunman killed a Jewish community member on security duty during a bat mitzvah celebration, and wounded two police officers.

Later that morning, police shot and killed a man near Nørrebro station in Copenhagen. He had opened fire on them when they addressed him while he attempted to enter a location under surveillance. Police said the man was responsible for both of the earlier attacks. The suspected gunman was identified as Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein.

Krudttønden attack

Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks had been marked for death by Islamic extremists for many years in the wake of the controversy over his drawings of Muhammad. On 14 February 2015 at 15:00 CET an event titled "Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression" (Template:Lang-da) took place at the Krudttønden cultural centre at Østerfælled Torv in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The debate was scheduled to include talks on the attack that January against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

At 15:33 a gunman sprayed the seminar with an automatic rifle, killing a 55-year-old man and wounding three police officers. Two of the injured officers were bodyguards belonging to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service. Officers returned fire, and the attacker fled. At least 30 bullet holes were visible in the window of the centre, a popular location known for jazz concerts. French Ambassador to Denmark François Zimeray, who attended the event, stated, "Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200."

Other participants included FEMEN activist Inna Shevchenko, who was addressing the audience when the shooting took place, editor at Dagbladet Information Niels Ivar Larsen, who spoke at the meeting and later wrote a detailed account of the shooting, and organizer Helle Merete Brix, the latter describing the attack as targeted at Vilks.

After the attack, the suspect hijacked and fled in a dark-coloured Volkswagen Polo. Police warned eyewitnesses to contact them directly, without approaching the vehicle. The car was later found abandoned a few kilometres away.

Great Synagogue attack

At 00:50 on 15 February 2015, a shooting took place at the Great Synagogue on Krystalgade in central Copenhagen. A bat mizvah ceremony attended by 80 people was taking place there.

A gunman shot Dan Uzan, a 38-year-old Jewish community member who was on security duty, who later died of a gunshot wound to the head. The gunman also shot and wounded two officers of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS), in the arms and legs.

The gunman escaped, without managing to enter the building. Police evacuated nearby Nørreport Station, the country's busiest rail hub and close to where the synagogue shooting took place, and did not allow any trains to stop there.

Police killing of suspect

Security forces tracked the shooter, via CCTV coverage. The police shot and killed him at around 04:50 on 15 February at the corner of Svanevej and Frederikssundsvej one block west of Nørrebro station in an ethnically diverse neighborhood of north Copenhagen. The man was approaching an apartment building the police had under surveillance, which the shooter had visited between the two attacks. When they called out to him, he began firing a gun at them. The chief police inspector said: "The culprit that was shot by the police task force is the person behind both of these assassinations."

The suspected gunman was identified as Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, born in Denmark to Palestinian immigrants. Danish police stated that the subject was a 22-year-old man who was well known to Danish intelligence. CNN reported that he "swore fidelity to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a posting made on what's apparently his Facebook page just before the weekend shooting spree."

Fatalities

Film director Finn Nørgaard, aged 55, was killed in the Krudttønden attack. Nørgaard directed and produced documentaries for Danish television.

A 38-year-old civilian, Dan Uzan, was killed in the Great Synagogue attack. A member of the Jewish community and of Israeli and Danish descent, he was guarding the entrance during a bat mitzvah ceremony attended by about 80 people.

Investigation

Danish police stated that they investigated the case as an act of terror, and possibly an assassination attempt on Vilks, though without knowing the actual motive of the perpetrators.

On 16 February 2015 the police reported that one of the injured officers had received a shot to the chest but his bulletproof vest prevented it from injuring him.

Later the same day, the police reported that at Krudttønden the attacker used a variant of the Colt Canada C7 rifle issued as M/95 to the armed forces in Denmark, while he used a pistol at the synagogue. The police further reported that two men aged 19 and 22 have been charged with helping the attacker dispose of the assault rifle. At the same time media are reporting that 44 M/95's were lost by the Royal Danish Army to armed robbers in 2009.

Reactions

National

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark commented through Ritzau: "It is with sadness that I learn the extent of the past days' events. My thoughts are with the slain filmmaker and the young guard from the Jewish community, who became the target of the perpetrator's actions," said the Queen in a written comment. "It is important that we in such a serious situation stand together and cherish the values that Denmark is based on." Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt condemned the "cynical act of terror" and stated, "We don't know the motive for the attacks but we know that there are forces that want to harm Denmark, that want to crush our freedom of expression, our belief in liberty. We are not facing a fight between Islam and the West, it is not a fight between Muslims and non-Muslims."

The synagogue's Rabbi, Jair Melchior, stated, "Terror is not a reason to move to Israel ... Hopefully the should do what they do, but our lives have to continue naturally. Terror's goal is to change our lives and we won't let it ... We lost a dear member of the community and now we have to continue doing what he did, which was helping to continue regular Jewish lives in Denmark. This is the real answer to vicious, cruel and cowardly act of terror." The Danish Islamic Council condemned the attack, saying: "the Danish Islamic Council invites everyone in Danish society to unite in the fight against extremism and terrorism."

After people having placed flowers and greetings on the location where the perpetrator was killed, a gang of young, masked men arrived and began gathering and removing these effects, explaining that such expressions are not "tradition among Muslims". Upon leaving, they shouted "Allahu akbar". When formulating their reactions on the attack, words like "pride" were used. They also accused Muhammad drawers for being the "real terrorists".

International

The attacks were condemned by foreign leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, French President François Hollande, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated "We send our condolences to the Danish people, and also to the Jewish community in Denmark. Once again Jews are murdered on the soil of Europe just for being Jews. This wave of terror attacks is expected to continue, including these murderous anti-Semitic attacks. Obviously Jews deserve protection in every country, but ... Israel is the home of every Jew ... Israel awaits you with open arms."

International organizations

The European Commission released a statement condemning the attack: "The European Commission and the High Representative deplore the attacks in Copenhagen costing the life of at least two citizens and injuring several others. Even one life is one too many. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. Europe stands united with Denmark in upholding freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We stand against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination. Europe will not be intimidated." European Council President Donald Tusk called Saturday's attack "another brutal terrorist attack targeted at our fundamental values and freedoms, including the freedom of expression."

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, said, "The ability to express ourselves freely, to attend meetings and debates without fear of violence, is fundamental to a free society. Free speech must be protected."

The Scandinavian branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir in a press release did not condemn the attacks, but said the Danish politicians, among others, were to blame: "Danish politicians and opinion-formers hold no moral authority to designate neither Muslims nor Islam as violent, when you consider how much blood they have on their hands. ... We, as a Muslim community should under no circumstances succumb to pressure and accept the premise that Islam is on trial."

See also

• Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
• Kurt Westergaard—Danish cartoonist targeted in an attack in 2010
• Lars Hedegaard—Danish author targeted in an attack in 2013
• Contemporary antisemitism in Denmark
• 2010 Stockholm bombings
• 2010 Copenhagen terror plot
• 2015 Île-de-France attacks
• Terrorism in the European Union

References

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• Current events from February 2015
• 2015 in Denmark
• 21st century in Copenhagen
• 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations
• Antisemitism in Denmark
• Assassination attempts
• Attacks in 2015
• Deaths by firearm in Denmark
• Events relating to freedom of expression
• Islamic terrorism in Denmark
• Murder in Denmark
• Østerbro
• Spree shootings
• Terrorist incidents in Denmark
• Terrorist incidents in 2015