Two Copenhagen suspects deny charges: lawyer

They are accused of getting rid of one of the firearms and giving the gunmen a place to hide afterwards

COPENHAGEN: Two men were charged on Monday with helping the gunman who killed two people in weekend attacks in Copenhagen but have denied the allegations, one of their lawyers said.

"They are accused of getting rid of one of the firearms and giving him (the gunmen) a place to hide afterwards and they are denying that completely," the lawyer of one of the men, Michael Juul Eriksen, told AFP.

The two suspects, who appeared in court on Monday following their arrest on Sunday, cannot be named for legal reasons.

Police confirmed charges against the two men arrested on suspicion "of aiding and abetting the perpetrator" of the deadly shootings at a cultural centre and synagogue that left two people dead and five policemen wounded.

Both suspects are from an immigrant background, tabloid Ekstra Bladet reported.

The gunman himself, who was killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on Sunday, has been identified in the media as Omar El Hussein, a 22-year-old with a history of violent crime.

Ekstra-Bladet said he had been released from prison two weeks ago after serving a term for aggravated assault -- raising fears he may have become radicalised behind bars.

Police carried out a series of operations in the Copenhagen area on Sunday, including a raid on an Internet cafe in the inner city district of Noerrebro, the same area where the gunman was killed.