Strasbourg shooting: France hunts gunman as alert level raised

[chrystal]

Strasbourg shooting: France hunts gunman as alert level raised

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46535552

 

France has issued a maximum level of alert as police hunt a gunman who opened fire at a Christmas market in the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Three people were killed and 13 wounded, eight of them seriously.

The gunman, 29, known to authorities as a suspected extremist, escaped after reportedly being injured.

Some 350 officers are involved in the search for the gunman. France's counter terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the country had issued an "urgence attentat" (emergency attack) alert, expanding police powers and creating the highest degree of vigilance.

He added that border controls had been strengthened and security at all Christmas markets would be stepped up.

The mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, has said the Christmas market will be closed on Wednesday and flags lowered to half-mast at the local town hall.

 

What happened?

The attack unfolded at around 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday close to Strasbourg's famed Christmas market near one of the central squares, Place Kléber, which attracts thousands of visitors at this time of year.

The gunman exchanged fire with officers who were patrolling the area as part of anti-terror measures.

It is thought he was injured. According to Mr Castaner, the man "fought twice with our security forces".

 

How did he escape?

According to France's BFM TV, he managed to reach a taxi which drove him away from the scene and dropped him in the vicinity of the police station in Neudorf, the area where he is understood to live.

It was the taxi driver who told police the man was wounded in his left leg.

Residents in Neudorf have been urged to stay indoors.

 

What do we know about the gunman?

A picture is beginning to emerge of the suspected attacker, although a motive is still not known.

He has not been officially named, but French media are referring to him as Cherif C.

According to police, he was born in Strasbourg and was already known to the security services as a possible terrorist threat: he was the subject of a "fiche S", the same system under which Amedy Coulibaly - who attacked a supermarket in 2015 - was flagged.

He is understood to have served prison sentences in both France and Germany.

BFM TV described him as a "repeat offender" and "delinquent", adding he was part of known extremist networks in the city.

Stephane Morisse, from the FGP police union, said the man's flat in the Neudorf district of the city had been searched by police in connection with a robbery on Tuesday morning, but he was not there.

Grenades were found during the search, according to BFM TV.

 

What about the victims?

Nothing is known of the victims yet.

However, eyewitness Pater Fritz told the BBC he heard gunfire and found a person who had been shot, lying on a bridge. He said he tried to resuscitate him but the man died.

He said no ambulance services had been able to enter the area, adding: "After 45 minutes we stopped the resuscitation [attempt], because a doctor told us on the phone that it was senseless."

Another eyewitness, who gave his name as Fatih, told AFP news agency that after the shots were fired there was "pandemonium" on the streets.

"People were running everywhere," he said.

Local journalist Bruno Poussard wrote on Twitter that there had been a dozen shots fired on his street in the city centre - one or two to begin with, then in bursts.

The impact of the shooting was felt further away from the square as well.

The European Parliament, which is nearby, was placed on lockdown. The parliament's president, Antonio Tajani, tweeted to say it would "not be intimidated by terrorist or criminal attacks".

Emmanuel Foulon, a press officer for the European Parliament, wrote that there was "panic" in the centre following the sound of gunfire and that police with guns were running through the streets.

British MEP Richard Corbett tweeted that he was in a restaurant in the city and the doors had been locked.

 

 

 

 

[capital]

Wow he's a known threat and moves around freely?

Also, to attack people shopping for Christmas - so targeted!

[Solfa]

My heart goes to the victims and their loved ones. Wishing a speedy recovery to the others. Lemme put a names on one the passed, because too often they become just statistics (from BBC):

Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, a tourist from Thailand, has been named by Thai media as one of the dead. He is believed to have been on holiday with his wife.

Rest in peace.

 

BBC also said the gunman had 27 previous convictions and was already in the list of potential terrorists. There is something seriously wrong with the system if he was still roaming around free despite this.

[azure]

Don't forget to light your candles, say that you're united, and do nothing about the issue as perusal. Thank god the populist movement is spreading like wildfire.
 

Hero civilian fifth victim of Strasbourg Christmas market attack

A man that tried to stop a suspected terrorist armed with a knife and gun from attacking shoppers at a Christmas market has died.
 
A fifth victim wounded during an attack at a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg has died, authorities and relatives said.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed on Sunday (local time) that a Polish national had died after being injured by Cherif Chekatt in Tuesday’s rampage.
 
“My brother Barto Pedro Orent-Niedzielski has just passed away. He thanks you for the love and strength you have given him,†the brother of the 36-year-old victim from the Polish city of Katowice wrote on Facebook.