Denmark on high alert after attack at free speech event

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – At least one gunman opened fire Saturday on a Copenhagen cultural center, killing a man in what authorities called a likely terror attack against a free speech event featuring an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.

The shooting, which also wounded three police officers, came a month after extremists killed 12 people at a satirical newspaper in Paris that had sparked Muslim outrage with its depictions of Muhammad.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who organized and attended Saturday’s event but escaped unharmed, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the shooting.

“What other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo,” he said, referring to the Jan. 7 attack by Islamic extremists on the French newspaper in Paris.

The 68-year-old Vilks has received numerous threats for drawing the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body in 2007.