Charlie Hebdo massacre may have inspired Copenhagen killer

Danish authorities said Sunday that the gunman who went on a deadly terror spree in Copenhagen may have been motivated by last month’s attacks in Paris.

Investigators believe that the killer — identified in multiple local reports as Danish-born Omar El-Hussein, 22 — “could have been inspired by the events in Paris,” in which Islamic militants slaughtered staffers at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and killed four Jews at a kosher market, said Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence service PET.

The Danish gunman was himself shot and killed by police hours after the terror attack, officials said.

“He could also have been inspired by material sent out by [the Islamic State terror group] and others,” Madsen said.

Agnieszka Kolek, a participant in a panel discussion on free expression that was targeted by the Danish gunman, said she heard shouts of “God is great” in Arabic during the attack.

The Ekstra-Bladet newspaper said the gunman got sprung from the slammer just two weeks ago after serving time for aggravated assault.

1 of 23

A police officer stands above a person lying on the ground near the synagogue shooting.AP Photo/Rasmus Thau Riddersh

Police officers take cover behind their patrol cars on the streets of Copenhagen.Getty Images

A victim is carried into an ambulance after a shooting incident at a public meeting and discussion arranged by the Lars Vilks Committee about Charlie Hebdo and freedom of speech in the Krudttonden Hall in the Osterbro area on Feb. 14 in Copenhagen.Getty

A man who passed a camera in the area shortly after two suspects had fled in a car following the shooting.Reuters

The scene outside the Copenhagen cafe, with a bullet-marked window, where a gunman opened fire.AP

Forensic investigators at the site of the shooting.Reuters

Police search with a sniffer dog at the area where shots were fired during a discussion about art, blasphemy and free speech in Copenhagen.EPA

An armed security officer runs down a street near the scene of the shooting.AP

A police officer stands guard after an earlier shooting at a public meeting arranged by the Lars Vilks Committee.Getty Images

Forensic officers work at the area around the cultural center.Getty

A policeman secures the area where shots were fired.EPA

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt speaks to the media as she visits Kanonhallen in Oesterbro after the terrorist attack.EPA

Swedish artist Lars Vilks on Jan. 3, 2012.Getty

Officials said the gunman, who killed two and injured five, “was known by police for several crimes” and was “on the radar” of intelligence services.

An investigation was under way to determine if he’d traveled to Syria or Iraq for terror training.

Meanwhile, cops busted at least two people at an Internet cafe near El-Hussein’s home as investigators searched for accomplices in the attacks on the Krudttonden cafe and Copenhagen’s main synagogue.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt denounced the killings as a “cynical act of terror,” while French President Francoise Hollande noted that the targets in both countries were similar.

In the wake of the shootings, Israel’s prime minister renewed his call for European Jews to seek safety in the Holy Land.

“Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home,” Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Copenhagen’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior, denounced the remarks.

“If the way we deal with terror is to run somewhere else, we should all run to a deserted island,” he said.

1 of 37