COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The shooting spree in Copenhagen by a radicalized former gang member has highlighted an overlap between Islamic extremists and the criminal underworld.
Danish police say gang members with Muslim backgrounds are being radicalized both in prison and outside, and some have joined the ranks of foreign fighters in Syria.
“We know that some of the fundamentalist groups are fishing in that pond,” said Michael Ask, head of Denmark’s National Center of Investigation. “Because they know that they have some young people who are vulnerable and rootless, who lack a sense of belonging, a community.”
Born in Denmark to Palestinian parents, Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein had a long history of violence and crime before he went on a rampage last weekend, killing two people and wounding five in attacks on a free-speech event and a synagogue.
The 22-year-old, who was killed in a shootout with police, had been member of “Brothas,” an inner-city immigrant gang in Copenhagen, but was reportedly kicked out because of his temper.