Gunmen have killed one person and injured three police
officers at a free speech debate in Copenhagen attended by a controversial
Swedish cartoonist, officials say.
The French ambassador was also present at the seminar.
Reports say up to 40 shots were fired and a manhunt has been launched.
Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who has previously faced death threats over
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, was unhurt.
Shortly after the shooting, a message appeared on the Twitter feed of French
ambassador Francois Zimeray saying
he was still
alive.
In an audio recording which emerged from the attack, one of the speakers at
the debate is suddenly interrupted by a barrage of gunshots.
Eyewitness Niels Ivar Larsen, speaking to the Associated Press news agency,
said: "I heard someone firing with an automatic weapon and someone
shouting."
"Police returned fire and I hid behind the bar," he added.
Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks has faced death threats
for many years
Emergency services gather at the scene following the
attack
The area around the venue is under lockdown, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant
reports.
Police have erected cordons and are searching a nearby park, he adds.
Officials say they are hunting for two suspected attackers who fled the scene
in a car.
Strict security
The debate, which took place in a cafe, was described on a personal website
of Lars Vilks as a talk on whether any limits should be placed on artistic
expression or freedom of speech.
A description of the event asked whether artists could "dare" to be
blasphemous in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks by Islamist gunmen
in Paris last month.
In an indication of the threat faced by the cartoonist, a note was included
on the website saying there was always "strict security" whenever the artist
spoke in public.
Forensic police officers work at the scene
An armed policeman guards the area near the
attack
Lars Vilks stoked controversy in 2007 by drawing pictures of the Prophet
Muhammad dressed as a dog.
An organiser of the event, Helle Merete Brix, said she clearly considered the
incident an attack on Mr Vilks, reported the Associated Press news agency.
In 2010 two brothers tried to burn down the cartoonist's house in southern
Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31472423
