Lars Vilks
The Swedish artist who sparked a worldwide controversy for drawing the Muslim ‘Prophet’ Mohammed with a dog body was killed in a fiery car crash in Markaryd, Sweden on Sunday.
Two police protection officers were also killed.
Lars Vilks, 75, lived under 24/7 police protection since he began drawing the Mohammad cartoons in 2007.
In 2010, Muslims torched Lars Vilks’ home and smashed out windows.
In 2015, gunman Omar El-Hussein tried to kill him at a cafe while he was participating in a debate on free speech but he managed to escape.
The special prosecutor’s office is investigating the car crash.
The Daily Mail reported:
A Swedish artist who survived two murder attempts after drawing a cartoon of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed has died in a horror car crash.
Lars Vilks, 75, was killed Sunday when the police car he was traveling in veered onto the wrong side of the road and collided with a truck.
Both vehicles caught fire and the truck driver, 45, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The truck driver was airlifted to hospital by helicopter, where he will be questioned by police over what happened.
The car carrying Mr Vilks was reportedly travelling at a high speed before it veered into the other lane and collided with the truck, becoming wedged underneath it. Both vehicles caught fire.
Police spokesman Rickard Lundqvist said: ‘I can not say at the moment if there are any criminal suspicions.’
The busy E4 road where the crash occurred has been closed off while police speak to witnesses. It is set to re-open at around 3am.
