Controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks has published drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a dog which sparked threats from Islamist militant groups.
Swedish artist Lars Vilks is said to have gone into hiding following the recent shootings in Copenhagen Reuters

Controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks has reportedly gone into hiding in the wake of the Copenhagen shootings over the weekend.

Vilks's disappearance comes as he believes he was the main target of the fatal shooting at a freedom of speech event at a Krudttoenden cafe in the city on Saturday (14 February), which killed 55-year-old director Finn Norgaard.

Vilks has lived with a threat to his personal security ever since he drew a picture of the Prophet Mohammed as a dog in 2007, which was later published in a Swedish newspaper. Any depiction of the Prophet is deemed blasphemous in Islam.

The artist is said to have asked for increased police protection following the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Danish police have since arrested two men suspected of aiding gunman 22-year-old Omar El-Hussein, who attacked the centre before carrying out a further shooting on the same day at Copenhagen's Great Synagogue in Krystalgade, which left another man dead and two police officers injured.

The pair are to face a custody hearing on 16 February.

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