Israel Matzav: #RandomFolks victims of 'militant attack' at Copenhagen synagogue

Sunday, February 15, 2015

#RandomFolks victims of 'militant attack' at Copenhagen synagogue

A #RandomFolk was murdered last night and two others were wounded in a terror attack on a Copenhagen synagogue (Hat Tip: Memeorandum) that was eerily similar to the attack on a Paris Kosher supermarket a month ago. After the second attack in Copenhagen, the terrorist (whom the BBC insists on calling a 'gunman') was killed by police. This is from the first link.

In the second attack, a Jewish man was killed and two police officers wounded near the city's main synagogue.

Police say video surveillance suggested the same man carried out both attacks. They do not believe any other people were involved.

"We assume that it's the same culprit behind both incidents, and we also assume that the culprit that was shot by the police task force... is the person behind both of these assassinations," Chief Police Inspector Torben Molgaard Jensen told a news conference.

He said police would maintain a high presence in the city.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Copenhagen says the city has been on high alert after the shootings.

Early on Sunday, police said they had been keeping an address under observation in the district of Norrebro, waiting for the occupant to return.

When he appeared, he noticed the officers, pulled out a gun and opened fire, police said. They returned fire and shot him dead. The incident happened near Norrebro train station.

Norrebro is a predominantly immigrant district of Copenhagen, about three miles (5km) away from the synagogue where the shooting took place just hours earlier.

The Jewish man was a security guard standing outside a Bat Mitzva at the synagogue. Here are more details on the victims of the synagogue attack.

A man was shot in the head, and was later confirmed to have died. Two police officers were wounded. It was later reported that the victim, a Jewish community member in his 30s, was guarding outside a bat mitzva celebration at the synagogue, according to Denmark's BT newspaper. It was reported that 80 people were attending the celebration at the time.

Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, Copenhagen Jewish community leader, said that following the earlier attack, he had requested police presence at the synagogue, but police did not follow through.

“We had contacted the police after the shooting at Café Krudttønden to have them present at the bat-mitzva, but unfortunately this happened anyway," Asmussen told Denmark's TV 2 News, as reported in The Guardian. “I dare not think about what would have happened if (the killer) had access to the congregation."

As in the Paris attacks, an anti-Islamist cartoonist was targeted and a Jewish target was hit a short time later. The synagogue was right to request police protection. Jews should take heed.

Labels: Copenhagen, Denmark, freedom of speech, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Islamic anti-Semitism, Islamic terrorism, Michelle Obama, Mohamed cartoons