Intruder at Danish cartoonist's home shot

AARHUS, Denmark, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Danish police said they wounded a man Friday at the home of Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who drew Muslims' anger with his drawings of the Prophet Mohammed.

The Guardian said Danish media reported a 27-year-old Somali armed with a knife and ax broke a window on the Aarhus-area home of the 74-year-old cartoonist about 10 p.m. and tried to get in.

East Jutland Police Chief superintendent Morten Jensen said when officers arrived, the man tried to attack one of them with the ax and he was shot in his right leg and his left arm. Jensen said the wounds were not serious and he was in custody.

Westergaard ignited a firestorm in the Muslim world in 2005 when the Jyllands-Posten newspaper published his drawing depicting Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a fuse. The drawing was considered a serious affront by Muslims, who believe no image of the prophet should be produced or shown.

Jyllands-Posten quoted Westergaard as saying the intruder "threatened to kill me."

"I ran out to the bathroom where our security room is. I was worried for my grandchild. I was afraid," he said. "I knew that I could not match him. So I alerted the police. It was scary. It was really close. But we did it. It was good."