Police say Copenhagen gunman had criminal record, gang past

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- The slain gunman suspected in the deadly Copenhagen attacks was a 22-year-old with a history of violence and may have been inspired by Islamic terrorists - and possibly the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said Sunday.

Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt mourned the two people killed and vowed to protect freedom of speech and Denmark's Jewish community.

The suspect was killed in a gunbattle with a SWAT team early Sunday. He had opened fire Saturday at a cultural center hosting a seminar on free speech with an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and then later at security forces outside a synagogue, police said.

A Danish filmmaker was killed in the first attack. Nine hours later, a security guard protecting a bat mitzvah near a synagogue was slain. Five police officers were wounded in the shootings.

Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman "could have been inspired by the events in Paris." Last month Islamic militants carried out a massacre at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery, killing 17 people.

"He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others," Madsen said.

Copenhagen police made no mention of Islamic extremism and said the Danish-born suspect had a history of violence and weapons offenses and connections to a criminal gang. They didn't release his name.

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

Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior identified the security guard as Dan Uzan, a 27-year-old member of Denmark's 7,000-strong Jewish community. Two police officers who were near the synagogue were slightly wounded.

In the earlier shooting, 55-year-old filmmaker Finn Noergaard was killed while attending a panel discussion titled "Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression." One of the main speakers was Lars Vilks, a 68-year-old Swedish artist who has faced numerous death threats for depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. Vilks, who was whisked away unharmed by bodyguards, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target.

Agnieszka Kolek, another panelist, said she heard shouts of "God is great" in Arabic. "Lars was being evacuated. Everyone was trying to protect themselves and others," she told AP. "We heard the gunshots approaching so I thought that the gunman must be in the building.

"And then I thought obviously I must protect myself and I tried to find a place to hide," she said.

After the shooting, she and other participants continued the discussion as an act of defiance, Kolek said.

The depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is deemed insulting to many followers of Islam. While many Muslims have expressed disgust at the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo employees, they also were deeply offended by its caricatures.

World leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, condemned the Copenhagen attacks.

French President Francois Hollande visited the Danish Embassy in Paris on Sunday, and hundreds gathered outside to show solidarity with victims. Many held candles or banners.

"We need to stand together in Europe and ... wherever jihadis try to threaten

democracy," said Sacha Reingewirtz, president of the Union of Jewish Students of France and an organizer of the memorial.

Also at the event was Patrick Pelloux, a medic and columnist for Charlie Hebdo. "We are all Danish tonight," he said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the attack and said his government plans to encourage a "massive immigration" of Jews from Europe.

"Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home," Netanyahu said at the start of a Cabinet meeting.

But Thorning-Schmidt, who laid flowers at the synagogue shooting site, expressed support for the Jewish community, saying: "They belong in Denmark ... and we will do everything we can to protect the Jewish community in our country."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki offered Washington's help to Danish authorities and said Americans "stand united with the people of Denmark and all others who defend the universal right of freedom of speech and stand against anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its forms."

Police said they believe the gunman carried out the attacks alone, but they were investigating whether he had received any help.

In a raid on a Copenhagen Internet cafe, police removed at least two people in

handcuffs, Danish media reported. Police spokesman Steen Hansen told AP that "the action was part of the police investigation" but declined to elaborate.

The European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, said it was in contact with Danish authorities about their investigation.

"We are offering our expertise and capabilities from our anti-terrorist unit including access to our databases," said Europol spokesman Soeren Pedersen.

The attacks took place two days after Denmark and its partners in the EU agreed to boost cooperation in the counterterrorism field as a result of the Jan. 7-9 attacks in Paris.

第二篇：时事新闻摘抄：'It's ridiculous'： record snowfall blankets New England

'It's ridiculous': record snowfall blankets New England

BOSTON (AP) - More than 2 feet of fresh snow piled up in parts of New England on Monday, breaking records set during the Blizzard of 1978 and testing the patience of officials and commuters as forecasters warned of more winter misery later in the week.

The latest onslaught forced the cancellations of hundreds of flights, tested transit systems and tempers and collapsed roofs straining beneath the weight of 5 feet or more of snow in less than two weeks.

"It's awful. I'm done with it. It's ridiculous," said Priscilla Medina, a sandwich shop worker in Westborough, Massachusetts, suffering from a nasty case of snow fatigue. Here's the latest on the winter that just won't quit:

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ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

Boston and areas south were hardest hit, with the National Weather Service reporting unofficial measurements of 26.5 inches in Weymouth, 26 inches in Sharon and 24.9 inches in Norwell. Forecasters expected more than 20 inches on the ground in Boston before the storm winds down early Tuesday.

"You can't change it. The snow is there," said Helen Ferullo, a social worker in Weymouth. "You can't do anything about it."

Much of Connecticut and parts of upstate New York braced for 6 to 12 inches, and southern Maine was in for about 8 by the time the storm tapers off Tuesday. ___

TRANSIT TROUBLE

Boston-area subways, trolleys and commuter rail trains ground to a halt at 7 p.m. Monday and were scheduled to remain idle on Tuesday, with only limited bus service continuing. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said it needed the break to clear snow and ice from tracks and to assess equipment damaged by the storms. Boston's transit system, the nation's oldest, has been particularly hard hit this winter. The buildup of snow and ice on trolley tracks combined with aging equipment has stalled trains, delaying and angering commuters. Fifty commuters were rescued Monday from a train that became disabled between stations in Quincy, south of Boston.

A frustrated Baker called that "unacceptable," and commuters complained bitterly of the daily delays.

Amtrak canceled portions of its passenger train service linking upstate New York to New York City because of the storm. Hundreds of flights were canceled at Boston's Logan International Airport, Connecticut's Bradley International Airport and Maine's Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport.

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90 FOOTBALL STADIUMS FULL

In Massachusetts alone since last month's blizzard struck, state workers have removed enough snow to fill Gillette Stadium 90 times over, Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters, calling the situation "pretty much unprecedented."

Boston set a record for the most snow recorded in a 30-day period, with 61.6 inches by Monday morning, breaking the record of 58.8 inches set in February 1978.

Bangor, Maine, tied its own 30-day snowfall record with 53 inches, which hasn't been seen in such a short period since 1969, the weather service said.

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SNOW PLOW DEATH

A man who had just finished work at a supermarket bakery in Medford,

Massachusetts, was struck in a parking lot by a private snow plowing truck and died after being taken to a hospital, authorities said.

Police interviewed the driver of the snow plow, but no charges were immediately filed in the death of 60-year-old Cesar Moya.

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ROOF COLLAPSES

Massachusetts emergency management officials confirmed that snow-laden roofs collapsed Monday in Quincy, Rockland and Bridgewater. No injuries were reported. Police said a former set of "The Finest Hours," a Disney film about a Coast Guard rescue of crewmen aboard an oil tanker wrecked off Cape Cod during a 1952 blizzard, suffered a partial collapse at an old shipyard in Quincy. The movie, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, is scheduled to open next year.

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MORE SNOW, LESS DOUGH

Forecasters said more snow was expected Thursday and again next weekend, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned that potentially record-low temperatures and wind chills are expected later in the week.

The steady run of winter blasts has already sucked up more than 70 percent of New Hampshire's Department of Transportation winter maintenance budget. Rhode Island, too, said Monday's storm will use up what's left of its $14 million budget for snow removal and nearly the entire salt stockpile.

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OCEAN DUMPING APPROVED

Massachusetts environmental officials gave cities and towns the green light to dump accumulating snow into open water if necessary.

The Department of Environmental Protection on Monday cited the challenges involved in getting rid of the historic snowfalls. Local communities may seek

permission to take emergency steps that allow disposal of snow in the ocean or other bodies of water, which is normally prohibited.

Officials also were using giant melters to liquefy snow.

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TRIALS DELAYED

Two high-profile Massachusetts trials have been further delayed by the snow. State court officials said testimony in the murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez would not resume until Wednesday. Jury selection for the federal trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused in the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, also was called off on Tuesday.

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OVERHEARD ON THE STREETS

"They were pretty much walking around like zombies. They've been working for 20 hours straight." - Carrie Sullivan, describing plow drivers eating at her Weymouth diner.

"I'm really getting sick of the snow. It's relentless." - Matt Beauregard, owner of the Capital Deli in Concord, New Hampshire.

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