Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist believed to have been a target in the shooting at a free speech debate in Copenhagen on Saturday, has been sent into hiding, police said.
Mr. Vilks — who survived a foiled assassination plot and other attacks since his cartoon satirizing the Muslim prophet Muhammad was published in a Swedish newspaper in 2007 — was already living under constant police protection but is now being moved from his home in Hoeganaes, southern Sweden, to an undisclosed location, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Mr. Vilks, 68, emerged unharmed Saturday after shots rang out at a cultural center hosting a forum on Islam and free speech.
The slain gunman, identified in the media as 22-year-old Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein, allegedly killed documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard at the event before moving on to Copenhagen’s main synagogue, where he allegedly killed a Jewish man guarding the building. He was killed early Sunday morning in a shootout with police.
Mr. Vilks — a frequent speaker at international events on Islam and free speech — will remain at his new location until further notice, AFP reported.
“It’s been a tragic event, but I am not affected personally by it,” he told Swedish Radio on Monday. “It’s become routine.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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