The man who tried to murder Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaar was carried into court today on a stretcher, his face covered to conceal his identity.
The 28-year-old Somali - a legal resident in Denmark- broke into Westergaard's home last night wielding an axe and a knife, shouting he wanted to kill him.
The cartoonist and his five-year-old granddaughter were able to take shelter in a specially-secured bathroom. When the police arrived two minutes later, the would-be killer attacked them too. Police shot him in the knee to stop him.
Five years ago a Danish newspaper commissioned a dozen cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. Westergaard drew an image of the prophet with his turban shaped as a bomb.
The publication of the cartoons provoked outrage, attacks on Danish embassies and riots, which killed dozens, and a boycott of Danish products.
And in 2008, Osama bin Laden warned that Europe and Denmark would be punished.
Westergaard came out of hiding last year in spite of the million-dollar price Islamic militants put on his head.
He has been under close police protection ever since.
A spokesman for the Danish intelligence service said the attacker was part of a terror-related network with links to the Somali militant group al Shabaab.
The Somali militant organisation flexed its muscle yesterday with a rally in Mogadishu. It has moved steadily closer to al Qaeda, and five years after they were first published, the attack shows the original cartoons still have the power to incite violence.
CBS / 3 News