Two charged in connection with Copenhagen shooting
Latest update : 2015-02-16
Two men have been charged in connection with weekend attacks in Copenhagen that killed two people, one of their lawyers said Monday. A police statement confirmed the men face charges of "aiding and abetting the perpetrator".
The deadly double shooting at a cultural centre and a synagogue also left five policemen wounded. The suspects have denied the allegations.
"They are accused of getting rid of one of the firearms and giving him (the gunmen) a place to hide afterwards and they are denying that completely," said Michael Juul Eriksen, the lawyer for one of the men, in comments to AFP.
Police confirmed the charges against the two men, who were arrested on suspicion "of aiding and abetting the perpetrator" of the attacks.
“The two men are charged with helping through advice and deeds the perpetrator in relation to the shootings at Krudttonden and in Krystalgade,” a police statement said earlier, referring to the locations of the attacks.
The suspects, who appeared in court on Monday following their arrest on Sunday, cannot be named for legal reasons.
Both suspects are from an immigrant background, tabloid Ekstra Bladet reported.
The gunman himself, who was killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on Sunday, has been identified in the media as Omar El-Hussein, a 22-year-old with a history of violent crime.
Ekstra-Bladet said he had been released from prison two weeks ago after serving a term for aggravated assault, raising fears he may have become radicalised behind bars.
Police carried out a series of operations in the Copenhagen area on Sunday, including a raid on an Internet cafe in the inner city district of Noerrebro, the same area where the gunman was killed.
El-Hussein was wanted by police in November 2013 for stabbing a fellow passenger on a train, according to Ekstra-Bladet.
This was corroborated by a statement issued by Danish police in 2013 describing an incident in which a man identified as Omar El-Hussein had stabbed a train passenger repeatedly with "a big knife".
Police said earlier it was investigating if the man had received help from others and if he had travelled to conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
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