Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Copenhagen Synagogue Victim Identified as Dan Uzan

The volunteer guard killed outside Copenhagen’s synagogue was identified as Dan Uzan, 37.

Uzan, whose father is Israeli and whose mother is Danish, died Saturday night shortly after sustaining fatal gunshot injuries, the Jewish Community in Copenhagen wrote in statement published on the website of the Security and Crisis Center by the European Jewish Congress.

The shooting at the Danish capital’s central synagogue in Krystalgade occurred just hours after a fatal shooting Saturday afternoon at a free speech event at a cultural center featuring a Danish cartoonist, Lars Vilks, who is under police protection because of his cartoons caricaturing Mohammed.

On Sunday morning, Danish police killed a man during a shootout they suspected of being involved in the attacks. He began shooting after he was approached in Copenhagen’s Norrebro district by police, who had been following him for weeks and wanted to detain him in connection with the shootings.

Uzan was standing guard outside the synagogue, which was closed at the time of the attack, because of an event held at an adjacent building for approximately 80 people, who had gathered there to celebrate a family event, reportedly a bat mitzvah.

The statement, titled “Terror at Copenhagen Synagogue,” also said that two police officers were attacked during the same incident by the perpetrator or perpetrators, who were not apprehended or immediately identified. The officers are in stable condition, the report said.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.