London, Feb 16 (IANS): Danish police have arrested two men on charges of helping a gunman in the killing of two people in separate attacks in Denmark's capital city of Copenhagen, media reported Monday.

The suspected gunman, named by Danish officials as Omar El-Hussein, 22, was shot dead by police after he attacked a free speech debate and a synagogue, BBC reported.

In the first shooting, film director Finn Norgaard, 55, was killed at a free-speech debate hosted by controversial Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks in the city.

Hours later, a 37-year-old Jewish man named Dan Uzan was shot dead while on security duty outside a nearby synagogue. Eighty people were celebrating a girl's bat mitzvah, or coming of age, in a hall behind the synagogue at the time.

The gunman fled by car but was traced by police to the city's Norrebro district.

He opened fire when confronted and was fatally shot by officers.

The two men have been charged with providing and disposing of the weapon, as well as with helping the gunman to hide.

A defence lawyer said the men have denied the charges.

The head of Danish intelligence, Jens Madsen, said investigators were working on the theory that El-Hussein could have been inspired by the shootings in Paris last month.

The attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, a kosher supermarket and a policewoman in Paris claimed 17 lives.

Madsen said police were also working to determine whether the man had travelled to Syria or Iraq.