Four dead, gunman identified after shooting at Strasbourg Christmas market
French police are searching for a man who shot dead at least four people and wounded numerous others, several critically, in central Strasbourg, on Tuesday, the 12th December.
The first shots were fired just before 8pm in the rue des Orfèvres, near the Strasbourg Christmas market, which is the largest in France. An attempted attack by al-Qaeda was foiled there in 2000.
The suspect carried a knife as well as a handgun. He shot at police first, and then fired randomly at passersby. French intelligence identified him from images taken by a surveillance camera as a 29-year-old who was born and lived in Strasbourg and had a criminal record.
The suspect is listed on the “S” (for state security) list of suspected Islamic radicals. A police source said the suspect was supposed to have been questioned yesterday morning in connection with other matters but was not at home when gendarmes arrived to search his apartment.
French prosecutors say a terror investigation has been opened into the shooting. Local authorities are advising residents to stay inside.
Source, photo: IrishTimes
