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| Inevitable threat? Strasbourg gunman was on terror watch list, had grenades at home | Inevitable threat? Strasbourg gunman was on terror watch list, had grenades at home |
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| The gunman who shot multiple victims in Strasbourg had previously been convicted and was known to French intelligence as a possible ‘security risk,’ yet managed to slip through the cracks despite tightened security across France. | The gunman who shot multiple victims in Strasbourg had previously been convicted and was known to French intelligence as a possible ‘security risk,’ yet managed to slip through the cracks despite tightened security across France. |
| “The author of these acts, listed as a security threat, had been sought by police,” the regional prefecture said in a statement, identifying the perpetrator as being on its notorious ‘Fiche S’. Yet he has reportedly managed to escape arrest earlier in the day, before carrying out the attack near the Christmas market at around 8 pm on Tuesday evening. | “The author of these acts, listed as a security threat, had been sought by police,” the regional prefecture said in a statement, identifying the perpetrator as being on its notorious ‘Fiche S’. Yet he has reportedly managed to escape arrest earlier in the day, before carrying out the attack near the Christmas market at around 8 pm on Tuesday evening. |
| “There are so many people that are involved around the edges of this sort of terrorism if this is what it turns out to be, that you can't keep any sort of meaningful surveillance on them. Even just monitoring the use of communications and social media would be too much,” Peter Kirkham, former London police inspector, told RT. | “There are so many people that are involved around the edges of this sort of terrorism if this is what it turns out to be, that you can't keep any sort of meaningful surveillance on them. Even just monitoring the use of communications and social media would be too much,” Peter Kirkham, former London police inspector, told RT. |
| Despite tight security measures introduced by the French security forces across public holiday venues in the country, Christmas markets remain “attractive” soft targets. | Despite tight security measures introduced by the French security forces across public holiday venues in the country, Christmas markets remain “attractive” soft targets. |
| The Strasbourg tragedy comes amid a major security presence across France, which has been gripped by the Yellow Vest protests over the last six weeks. The sheer volume of work handled by the security services during the holiday season could have allowed the shooter to slip through the security cracks, Philip Ingram, a former senior military intelligence officer, told RT. | The Strasbourg tragedy comes amid a major security presence across France, which has been gripped by the Yellow Vest protests over the last six weeks. The sheer volume of work handled by the security services during the holiday season could have allowed the shooter to slip through the security cracks, Philip Ingram, a former senior military intelligence officer, told RT. |
| “The security forces have to be right 100 percent of the time and, remember, in France at the moment they are distracted with the Yellow Vest protests that are going on,” Ingram said. | “The security forces have to be right 100 percent of the time and, remember, in France at the moment they are distracted with the Yellow Vest protests that are going on,” Ingram said. |
| “There has been a lot of unrest in France over the last few weeks, so it would be early to call it a terrorist incident,” Ingram noted, as the French counter-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident. | “There has been a lot of unrest in France over the last few weeks, so it would be early to call it a terrorist incident,” Ingram noted, as the French counter-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident. |
| As the manhunt continues, much of the city center remains on lockdown with authorities urging people to stay at home amid the developing “serious public security incident.” The European Parliament building is also sealed off with no one allowed to enter or exit the premises. | As the manhunt continues, much of the city center remains on lockdown with authorities urging people to stay at home amid the developing “serious public security incident.” The European Parliament building is also sealed off with no one allowed to enter or exit the premises. |
| The search and response brigade, BRI, as well as the RAID, two French specialized intervention units, are currently engaged in an active search for the shooter. They are being aided by a helicopter deployed to track down the suspect. | |
| The assailant entered the perimeter of the Christmas market via the Corbeau bridge at around 8:00pm local time, armed with an automatic weapon. After opening fire on the crowd he then fled the scene and, according to some reports, was wounded by a Sentinel strike team during his escape. The shooter was later allegedly encircled in the district of Neudorf, where exchanges of fire reportedly were heard around 10:00pm local time, yet there was no official confirmation that the shooter had been cornered. | |
| The suspect, swiftly identified on surveillance and video recordings, was known for his criminal activities. Authorities believe their target is listed on the ‘Fiche S’ list of potential security threats, was born in February 1989 in Strasbourg and may have been radicalized only recently. He was to be arrested Tuesday morning in a homicide-robbery case, yet when the investigators arrived at his home, he was not there. Grenades were found during the search, according to French media. | |
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