2 deadly shootings within hours in Copenhagen

Investigative personnel work at the scene of a cafe shooting in Oesterbro, late February 14, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

COPENHAGEN - Danish police say a man they shot and killed early Sunday was likely behind the shooting attacks at a free speech event and a synagogue in Copenhagen.

Investigator Joergen Skov says the preliminary investigation says nothing that suggests that there were other gunmen involving in the shootings that left two people dead and five police officers wounded.

A shooting at a free speech event featuring an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and a second shooting hours later outside a synagogue left two dead and five police officers wounded in Copenhagen, stirring fears that another terror spree was underway in a European capital a month after 17 people were killed in Paris attacks.

The first shooting happened shortly before 4 pm Saturday. Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a panel discussion on freedom of expression following the Paris attacks.

A 55-year-old man attending the event was killed, while three police officers were wounded. Two belonged to the Danish security service PET, which said the circumstances surrounding the shooting "indicate that we are talking about a terror attack."

The gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a few kilometers (miles) away, police said.

Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad, was one of the main speakers at the event, titled "Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression." He was whisked away by his bodyguards unharmed as the shooting began.

Vilks, 68, later said he believed he was the intended target of the shooting.