People lay flowers outside a synagogue where an attack took place in Copenhagen
Two men suspected of helping the gunman behind the deadly attacks in Copenhagen faced a court hearing yesterday as Danes mourned the victims of a shooting spree that authorities said may have been inspired by last month’s terror attacks in Paris.
The defense lawyer for one of the suspects said they were accused of helping the gunman evade authorities and get rid of a weapon during the manhunt that ended early Sunday when the attacker was killed in a shootout with police.
Two people were killed in the weekend attacks, including a Danish filmmaker attending a free speech event and a Jewish security guard shot in the head outside a synagogue in Copenhagen. Five police officers were wounded in the attacks.
Authorities described the gunman as a 22-year-old Dane with a history of violence and gang connections. Denmark’s security service said he may have been inspired by the terror attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris that killed 17 people.
Denmark’s red-and-white flag flew at half-staff from official buildings yesterday across the capital. Mourners placed flowers and candles at the cultural center where documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard, 55, was killed and at the synagogue where Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old security guard, was gunned down.
There was also a smaller mound of flowers on the street at the location were the gunman was slain.
The two suspects arraigned at a closed hearing yesterday were accused of “having helped the perpetrator in connection with the shooting attacks,” Copenhagen police said.
Michael Juul Eriksen, the defense attorney for one of the two men, told reporters they deny allegations of giving the gunman shelter and getting rid of a weapon. A judge at the hearing will rule on whether to keep the two men in custody. Jan M. Olsen and Karl Ritter, Copenhagen, AP
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