Controversial Swedish Artist Lars Vilks Who Sketched Prophet Muhammad Dies

Lars Vilks, the Swedish artist who made a sketch of Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog, has been killed in a car crash. The accident took place near Markaryd, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Malmo on Sunday. Vilks was under police protection since the drawings were published. He was travelling in a police car along with two plainclothes officers and the vehicle collided with a truck. Vilks along with the two police bodyguards died in the accident.

Senior police officer Stefan Siteus said that "We have found residues of tire on the E4 before the accident, and we are looking into the possibility that there could have been some kind of tire explosion." Chief Prosecutor Kajsa Sundgren said that "They have taken up the preliminary investigation into whether any police officer may have committed a crime in connection with the accident."

Lars Endel Roger Vilks was a Swedish visual artist and activist born in 1946 in Helsingborg in southern Sweden. He rose to fame after he drew sketches of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body. He also created the sculptures, Nimis and Arx, made of driftwood and rock respectively. He wanted to display the drawings at an exhibit at a Swedish cultural heritage centre but due to security reasons they have been removed.