Police in Denmark say one person has been shot in the head and two police officers wounded in an attack on a Jewish synagogue in central Copenhagen.

Danish television station TV2 said Norreport, a large metro and train station nearby, had been evacuated following early Sunday's attack in Krystalgade. The attacker apparently fled on foot.

The incident came several hours after a shooting attack on a cafe in northern Copenhagen which hosted a debate on freedom of speech and was attended by Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who had been threatened with death for his cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

Police said it was too early to say whether the synagogue attack was related to Saturday's shooting at the free-speech event.

At least one man was killed and three police officers were wounded after several shots were fired at the Krudttoenden Cafe in the first attack. Police said just one person was involved in the assault, which occurred before 4pm.

They released a photo of the suspect in a dark jacket and a maroon hat carrying a black bag.

The assailant reportedly used automatic weapons in carrying out the attack. A getaway car had been recovered, police said.

Police said the victim was a civilian about 40 who was inside the art cafe. He has not yet been identified.

Numerous threats

Krudttoenden Cafe, which is known for its jazz concerts, was hosting an event titled Art, Blasphemy and the Freedom of Expression when the shots were fired.

The event was organised by Lars Vilks, 68, a Swedish artist who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing Prophet Muhammad in 2007.

Police confirmed that he was the target of the attack.

Francois Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark, was also in attendance when the event at the Krudttoenden Cafe came under attack.

He was not injured.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark's prime minister, described the assault as "a terrorist attack".

"Denmark has today been hit by a cynical act of violence," he said.

"Everything indicates that the shooting in Osterbro was a political assassination, and thus an act of terrorism."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting.

Christina Marker, reporting for Al Jazeera from Copenhagen, said there is "a massive police presence" in the city and that even before the attack, there "were lots of security around".

Earlier, Denmark's TV2 channel reported that there were about 30 bullet holes in the window of Krudttoenden Cafe, adding that at least two people were taken away on stretchers, including a uniformed police officer.

Artist not injured

Helle Merete Brix, one of the organisers of the free-speech event, told the Associated Press news agency that Vilks was present at the event but not injured.

When Vilks is in Denmark, he receives police protection.

A woman in the US state of Pennsylvania got a 10-year prison term last year for a plot to kill him.

In 2010, two brothers tried to burn down Vilks' house in southern Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.

Just over a month ago, 17 people were killed in France in three days of violence that began when two attackers burst into the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, opening fire in revenge for its publication of images of Prophet Muhammed.

Comparisons between the two events are already starting to be made, including by Zimeray, the French diplomat.

"They fired on us from the outside," he said. "It was the same intention as [the January 7 attack on] Charlie Hebdo except they didn't manage to get in."

Vilks, for his part, told the Associated Press news agency 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.

However, in a statement to Al Jazeera, Tabish Khair, a novelist based in the Danish town of Aarhus, cautioned against immediately linking the attack with any religion.

"It should be condemned as a criminal act, and no religious belief should be employed to explain it on any side," he said.
(Al Jazeera)