Danish shooter had gangland past

The suspected gunman killed by police after shooting attacks against a free speech event and outside a Copenhagen synagogue was 22 years old and had a background in criminal gangs, police said Sunday.

The suspect was born in Denmark and had a criminal record, including violence and weapons offences, Copenhagen police said. They didnt release his name.

A Danish film maker at a panel discussion on blasphemy was killed in the shooting Saturday at the free speech event and a member of the countrys Jewish community was killed outside the synagogue. Five police officers were also wounded. Police believe the suspect carried out both shootings alone.

Denmark has been hit by terror, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said. We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrators actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech.

Jens Madsen, head of Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman was inspired by Islamic radicalism. (AP)

PET is working on a theory that the perpetrator could have been inspired by the events in Paris. He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others, Madsen said.

Islamic radicals carried out a massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris last month, followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery store, taking the lives of 17 victims.

Earlier Sunday, at least two people with handcuffs were taken out by police from an Internet cafe in Copenhagen, Danish media reported. Police spokesman Steen Hansen told The Associated Press that the action was part of the police investigation but declined to give further details.

The Danish Film Institute said the 55-year-old man killed at the free speech event was documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard.

The institutes chief Henrik Bo Nielsen said he was shocked and angry to find out Noergaard was gunned down while attending a discussion on art and free speech.

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Danish shooter had gangland past