More terrorism circus? Two dead, five injured in Copenhagen shootings

Danish police shot and killed a man early today who investigators believe was behind shootings at a free speech event and a synagogue in Copenhagen, killing two men and wounding five police officers, and was likely inspired by last month's terror attacks in Paris.

The suspected gunman was killed in a shootout with police in the Noerrebro district of Copenhagen, Danish investigator Joergen Skov told The Associated Press.

According to Copenhagen police, at about 5 a.m., the suspect was returning to an address that was under police surveillance. When officers tried to make contact with the suspect, he shot at them. The officers returned fire, killing him.

Skov said "nothing at this point suggests there were other perpetrators" in the Saturday shootings. Police officials said at a news conference Sunday that they knew who the suspect was but have not yet identified him, only saying he was from Copenhagen.

© Copenhagen Police

Police in Copenhagen released a photo of a man believed to be the gunman who opened fire on a cafe in the Danish city, killing one man and injuring three police officers.

The first shooting happened about 4 p.m. at an event titled "Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression," organized by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced several threats after caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. The 55-year-old victim was not identified.

"I'm not sure how many shots but I'd say about 20 or 30 shots," Dennis Myhoff-Brink, who witnessed the attack, told BBC News. "People panicked of course and ran to the doors. Other people were hiding behind tables they had turned over."

Vilks, 68, who was not injured in the shooting, said he believes he was the intended target.

"What other motive could there be? It's possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo," he told the AP.

© Polfoto, Janus Engel/AP Photo

The scene outside the Copenhagen cafe, with bullet marked window, where a gunman opened fire Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015

The shooting happened a month after gunmen opened fire on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris, killing 12 people. The magazine had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, angering many Muslims.

In the days that followed, a police officer was killed and four others slain at a kosher grocery store inside the French capital.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called the cafe shooting a "terrorist attack."

"We feel certain now that it is a politically motivated attack, and thereby it is a terrorist attack," she said.

© Janus Engel/AP Photo

The scene outside the Copenhagen cafe, with bullet marked window, where a gunman opened fire Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015,.

Hours after the shooting at the cafe, police said Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old member of Copenhagen's Jewish community, was killed and two police officers were wounded in a shooting outside a synagogue.

Uzan was standing near the entrance when he was shot, acting as a security guard for a Bat Mitzvah party that was taking place inside, according to Copenhagen's main synagogue.

"It is a very sad morning where we all think of the victims and their relatives," said Thornin-Schmidt. "Two innocent people have lost their lives because of a cynical terror action against Denmark."

© Michael Probst/AP Photo

Danish police officers secure the area outside of a synagogue, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, where a gunman opened fire in Copenhagen, Denmark.

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told ABC News that it's "too early to tell" if the shootings in Copenhagen were tied to ISIS or al Qaeda.

"We still don't know. Obviously they [the intelligence community] are working with Danish authorities to try to get to the bottom of - was there an affiliation with al Qaeda or ISIS? Was this self-radicalization? Was this a copycat of what happened in Paris?" said Schiff. "It's still too early to tell."

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