Thousands in Copenhagen Protest As Obama, Danish Leader Vow to Confront Terror

Local Editor

Tens of thousands of Danes have gathered for a torchlit vigil in Copenhagen to commemorate the victims of two shootings that shocked the nation.

Stunned citizens in what is usually one of the world's most peaceful countries flocked to Monday's rally in a square near the cultural center where the first attack took place. Many held flaming torches aloft, illuminating the chilly winter night.

A police spokesman estimated that some 30,000 people had turned out to pay tribute to the two victims.

The first, 55-year-old filmmaker Finn Norgaard, was killed when a gunman opened fire during a debate on free speech on Saturday.

The same attacker then targeted the city's main synagogue, killing 37-year-old Dan Uzan.
"Tonight I want to tell all Danish Jews: you are not alone. An attack on the Jews of Denmark is an attack on Denmark, on all of us," Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told the crowd at the vigil.

US President Barack Obama expressed solidarity with Denmark in a phone call with Thorning-Schmidt on Monday. The two leaders "agreed on the need to work together to confront attacks on freedom of expression...," the White House said in a statement.

The FBI are helping Danish authorities probe the attacks, a senior US official confirmed, declining to say what kind of help the US was providing.
Two suspects were on Monday charged with helping the gunman dispose of his weapon and giving him somewhere to hide, the lawyer of one of the men, Michael Juul Eriksen, said.

He said the unnamed men denied the charges "completely".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team