DENMARK-SHOOTING/SYNAGOGUE EYEWITNESSES Eyewitnesses recount Copenhagen synagogue shooting
Record ID:
324462
DENMARK-SHOOTING/SYNAGOGUE EYEWITNESSES Eyewitnesses recount Copenhagen synagogue shooting
- Title: DENMARK-SHOOTING/SYNAGOGUE EYEWITNESSES Eyewitnesses recount Copenhagen synagogue shooting
- Date: 15th February 2015
- Summary: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (FEBRUARY 15, 2015) (REUTERS) ++ NIGHT SHOTS ++ POLICE PRESENCE NEAR SYNAGOGUE AFTER SHOOTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) EYEWITNESS, RASMUS THAU RIDDERSH, SAYING: "We were just at the bar just across the synagogue. We were just in for some drinks and a good time out on a Saturday in Copenhagen. And we didn't hear anything until these SWAT people from the police entered the street just in front wearing helmets and automatic rifles. We looked outside the window and saw this guy lying in the street just on the other side of the pavement." POLICE PRESENCE NEAR SYNAGOGUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EYEWITNESS, RASMUS THAU RIDDERSH, SAYING: "We'd been told by the police to stay in the bathrooms which was in the back of the rooms for the last couple of hours, so we didn't know what was happening in the streets. But just now we were told to leave the place, as long as we follow the routes that the police said was ok. In the street this guy was still lying there, after a couple of hours. That's all I can tell." POLICE PRESENCE NEAR SYNAGOGUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EYEWITNESS, PETER TYRRESTRUP, SAYING: "No, no, actually I'm not afraid. It's more like...it's more crazy, more like the feeling of...yeah, it's happened in Denmark... we've heard about it in Paris. If you can make those things together, but yeah, it's crazy." PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET / POLICE PRESENCE IN BACKGROUND
- Embargoed: 2nd March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Denmark
- Country: Denmark
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2NFYY9S64SM89KDKAAFKYRFP3
- Story Text: A man who had been shot in the head multiple times at a Copenhagen synagogue has died from his injuries, Danish police said on Sunday (February 15).
The shooting took place just hours after another attack at a meeting attended by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had been threatened with death for his cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
Rasmus Thau Riddersh was near the synagogue when the police moved into the area after the attack.
"We were just at the bar just across the synagogue. We were just in for some drinks and a good time out on a Saturday in Copenhagen. And we didn't hear anything until these SWAT people from the police entered the street just in front wearing helmets and automatic rifles. We looked outside the window and saw this guy lying in the street just on the other side of the pavement," he told Reuters in the early hours of Sunday.
"We'd been told by the police to stay in the bathrooms which was in the back of the rooms for the last couple of hours, so we didn't know what was happening in the streets. But just now we were told to leave the place, as long as we follow the routes that the police said was ok. In the street this guy was still lying there, after a couple of hours," he added.
Another eyewitness expressed disbelief that such an attack had happened in Denmark.
"No, actually I'm not afraid. It's more like...it's more crazy, more like the feeling of...yeah, it's happened in Denmark... we've heard about it in Paris. If you can make those things together, but yeah, it's crazy," said Peter Tyrrestrup.
A civilian was killed and three police wounded on Saturday (February 14) when a masked gunman sprayed bullets at a Copenhagen venue holding a meeting attended by Vilks.
Danish police said the suspect shooter escaped in a getaway car. Hours later, shots were fired at a synagogue early on Sunday, with one person hit in the head and two police officers wounded.
It was not yet known if there was a connection between the two attacks, Danish police said.
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Denmark was on high alert after a "terrorist attack" police said was aimed at Vilks, who stirred controversy in 2007 with published drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a dog. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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