Report: Danish gunman in ISIS link claim

The man behind the deadly shooting in Copenhagen had previously sworn allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi shortly before he killed two people, cable news channel CNN has reported.

Posted on what is thought to his Facebook page, Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein wrote: “allegiance to Abu Bakr in full obedience in the good and bad things. And I won’t dispute with him unless it is an outrageous disbelief.”

It is believed Hussein opened fire in a free speech forum in Copenhagen on Saturday, before shooting several people outside a synagogue. He was finally killed in a shootout with police outside a synagogue.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks - who is known for his controversial portrayals of the Prophet - told CNN he believed he was a likely target of Saturday’s attack. He escaped unharmed, the report added - but he has since gone into hiding.

Vilks told CNN he noticed the attacker’s arsenal of weapons was significantly greater than that of the police.

He added: "He was very well-equipped, and the policemen were not. So he had an advantage…. Several of the policemen (were) wounded but still they tried to fire back."

Vilks has been targeted several times following the publication of his cartoon that portrayed the Prophet with the body of a dog.

And he said that he believed all religion should be open to be insulted “in a democratic way."

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt led the nation’s mourning on Monday in an event believed to have been attended by more than 40,000 attended the event.

She told mourners: “An attack on Denmark’s Jews is an attack on everyone,” she said. “The Jewish community is an important part of Denmark. We will stand together and continue the everyday life we know. We stand together as Danes.”

Two other men have been charged with helping to hide the gunman. The pair’s lawyer - Michael Eriksen told CNN the men, 19 and 22, were ‘charged with two counts of accessory to murder and five counts of accessory to attempted murder.’

Eriksen told CNN that the two, who pleaded not guilty, have not been charged under Denmark's anti-terrorism laws.
Danish Prime Minister said the shot suspect had been linked to a criminal group – but added there was no known terror claims.

But investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Saturday’s shootings were influenced by January’s Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris.