2 police, bystander, suspect wounded in Copenhagen gun melee

A 25-year-old man late Wednesday allegedly shot two police officers – critically injuring one of them – and one civilian during a drug raid on Christiania, which was founded by squatting hippies in the 1970s and has a long history of openly trading drugs.

Police say the assailant pulled a gun when police tried to arrest him and shot one uniformed officer in the head, seriously wounding him.

One civilian was blasted in the thigh – his condition is not thought to be life threatening and police have confirmed they were not responsible for shooting the man, who is not of Danish origin.

A spokesperson said “Copenhagen police can’t comment further on the episode – neither the nature of the operation nor about the condition of the officers”.

Residents of a freewheeling, semi-autonomous Copenhagen neighbourhood on Friday tore down the stalls of a busy cannabis market after a brutal shooting prompted a public backlash.

The 25-year-old gunman escaped after the attack but was arrested after a shoot-out with police. Hashish and marijuana are illegal in Denmark, but the area quickly became known for its tolerance of drugs.

Free town residents decided at a gathering on Thursday night to start demolishing the booths, concerned that Christiania’s liberal drugs culture has been taken over by organized crime.

Copenhagen police director Thorkild Fogde said: “This is not just about hash”. “But we can not guarantee that they won’t pop up again, unfortunately”.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen tweeted: “Great Christiania”.

Pusher Street’s cannabis market was initially controlled by the mainly self-governing Christiania district’s own residents but was later taken over by criminals. “If you support Christiania, stop buying your cannabis here”, Manghezi said.

Since Pusher Street was created in the late 1980s, police have raided the hashish sale dozens of time and have torn down stalls several times with little luck.