Copenhagen suspect 'behind both incidents'

Copenhagen police confirmed on Sunday morning that they believed the man shot dead in relation to two terrorist attacks within the last 24 hours had been the shooter behind both.

"We assumed that it's the same culprit behind both incidents, and we also assume that the culprit that was shot by the police task force [at] Norreport station is the person behind both of these assassinations," Chief police inspector Torben Molgaard said.

According to police spokesperson Jorgen Skov, the investigation was ongoing to determine whether he had acted alone.

Copenhagen falls victim to terrorism

Denmark's capital city, Copenhagen, became the latest Western city to fall victim to terrorism apparently linked to Islamist extremists, when a man opened fire on a panel discussion on Saturday evening, killing a 55-year-old man and injuring three police officers.

Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, whose controversial satirization of the Prophet Muhammad in 2007 sparked protests, was attending the event at the Krudttoenden cultural center, as were other high-profile figures, including France's ambassador to Denmark, Francois Zimeray.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called the attempt to silence free speech a "terrorist attack."

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a young Jewish man was fatally shot in the head outside of the city's main synagogue, where he was checking in visitors to a Bar Mitzvah.

Authorities subsequently evacuated the nearby Noerreport train station and train services into it were halted and cordoned off roads as part of a manhunt for the assailant, who had fled on foot. Police shot dead the suspect after he opened fire on them.

No information has been released about the deceased suspect. Prior to his death, authorities had said that they were looking for a suspect between 25 and 30 years of age.

Terrorism attacks by Islamist extremists have been on the rise in Western countries over the past year. The latest incident occurred in Paris, where gunmen raided the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people dead in revenge for depicting Muhammad. Two days later a separate gunman took a Jewish supermarket hostage, killing four people.

kms/rc (AP, AFP, dpa)