The suspect in the two fatal Copenhagen attacks has been identified as a 22 Danish national called Omar El-Hussein, the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet revealed on Sunday. This information was relayed by the Danish television channel TV2.
The suspect shot by police on Sunday night got out of prison 2 weeks before the attacks. He had served a sentence for assault, the Danish daily revealed. The attacks have been classified as terrorist attacks. The paper also released a photo in which his face is clearly visible.
Ekstra Bladet, who have not revealed their source, have said that what the police know about him corresponds with what has been made public by investigators.
The police confirmed he was already known to them for being violent in the past through a press release. In December, Omar El-Hussein was convicted of stabbing a 19 year old man in a station in Copenhagen the previous year, with no clear motive.
The majority of his sentence was covered by time served before the sentencing.
According to Ekstra Bladet, the suspect was part of a gang called Brothas, from the popular neighbourhood of Norrebro. This was where he shot at law enforcement officers, who returned fire.
The police did not release the suspect’s name before these revelations. “The suspect is a 22 year old man, born in Denmark, who is known to police for breaching gun laws and assault. He is also known for his links to criminal gangs”, they had said in a press release.
(Source: Belga)
