Copenhagen Gunman (Photo : www.bbc.com)
Denmark's spy chief Jens Madsen says the gunman that killed two people in two shooting incidents in Copenhagen Feb. 14, might have been inspired by Isis.
Madsen, head of Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service, said Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, the Copenhagen gunman, "generally have been inspired by militant Islamist propaganda issued by (Isis) and other terror organizations."
He also said the 22 year-old El-Hussein was known to intelligence services prior to shootings and probably acted alone. Three of the men wounded by El-Hussein at the site of his first attack at the Krudttønden cultural center were intelligence agents working for Madsen.
The Danish-born El-Hussein was a local criminal arrested several times for gang-related activities and possession of weapons in the past.
Police later in the day arrested two men and accused them of plotting to help El-Hussein hide after the attacks. The accused denied the charge. El-Hussein was shot dead by police outside his home after opening fire on police that called on him to surrender.
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, however, said El-Hussein was linked to a criminal group and at this stage there are no known links to a terror cell. She described the incident as politically motivated, according to BBC News .
Investigators did not rule out the attacks might have been inspired by last month's terror attacks in Paris.
Police said El-Hussein could have been targeting controversial Swedish Cartoonist Lars Vilks, who has received many death threats from Muslim extremists for his unflattering portrayal of the prophet Muhammad.
Vilks told the authorities that he is not afraid and is not shaken by the incident.
"We were listening to a lecture and suddenly it started to come, these bang bang sounds, and at first it seemed so unreal then the bodyguards reacted and I understood there was an attack going on. I'm not shaken at all by this incident," he added. "Not the least.''
He believes he was the main target of the shooting spree. The shooting left 55-year-old film director Finn Nørgaard dead, The Guardian reported. In addition, El-Hussein killed a security guard at a synagogue he attacked later.
