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Strasbourg shooting: gunman was listed as potential terror threat Strasbourg shooting: gunman was listed as potential terror threat
(about 2 hours later)
A gunman being hunted by police after killing three people and injuring 13 others after opening fire on Strasbourg’s Christmas market is a hardened criminal who was on France’s national security list as a potential terror threat, French authorities have said. A gunman being hunted by police after killing three people and injuring 13 others upon opening fire on Strasbourg’s Christmas market is a hardened criminal who was on France’s national security list as a potential terror threat, French authorities have said.
Hours before he opened fire in the city centre, the suspect had given police the slip when they went to arrest him in connection with an armed robbery and attempted murder. Explosives were reportedly found in a search of his home. Witnesses said the man shouted “Allah Akbar” as he shot into the crowds and slashed at passersby with a knife.
When a suspect began shooting in the city centre just before 8pm on Tuesday, police quickly identified the suspect as the same man. Two victims died at the scene and a third was said to have been left “brain dead”. Six people were critically injured.
Laurent Nuñez, secretary of state for the interior ministry, said the failed arrest might be one reason for the attack. He said a terrorism investigation had been opened but it was too soon to establish the gunman’s motives. The public prosecutor Rémy Heitz told journalists the attack was being investigated as terrorism-linked.
Nuñez added that the gunman, who had spent time in prison in Germany and France, had been flagged up as having been radicalised in jail. He was on France’s “Fiche S”, a national register of those considered a potential risk to national security. The list includes suspected Islamist extremists but also major criminals, political militants and anarchists. Earlier on Tuesday, the man named as 29-year-old Strasbourg-born Chérif Chekatt had given police the slip when they went to arrest him in connection with an attempted murder. He was not home, but a “grenade”, a gun and ammunition along with four knives were found in a search of his apartment.
When the suspect began shooting in the city centre just before 8pm on Tuesday, police quickly identified him as the same man they had been looking to arrest.
Laurent Nuñez, the secretary of state for the interior ministry, said the failed arrest might be one reason for the attack.
Heitz said the man walked through several streets “at the heart of the Christmas market” shortly before 8pm. “All along this route he opened fire several times with a handgun and used a knife with which he seriously injured and killed.
“Faced with four soldiers from Opération Sentinelle, he fired at them and was targeted back and was injured in the arm.” Opération Sentinelle is a nationwide security operation established after a series of terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015.
The gunman then took a 10-minute taxi to the Neudorf district south-east of the centre.
“The taxi driver said the individual asked him to take him to this district without giving an address, saying he would give him directions. The taxi driver added he saw the suspect in possession of a hand gun and that he was injured. To explain his injuries, the individual told of what he had done in the centre of Strasbourg by saying he had shot at soldiers and killed 10 people,” Heitz said.
“The taxi driver said the individual made statements justifying what he claimed he had done.”
Chekatt, getting out of the taxi, came into contact with police and there was another exchange of fire.
Heitz said the suspect had been convicted 27 times, mostly for acts of “theft and violence” committed in France, Germany and Switzerland and had been jailed many times. He drew the attention of France’s security services for his “radicalisation and proselytising attitude” while jailed in 2015 and had been under surveillance.
He was on France’s “Fiche S”, a national register of those considered a potential risk to national security. The list includes suspected Islamist extremists but also major criminals, political militants and anarchists.
Strasbourg Christmas market shooting: suspect on the run after three killedStrasbourg Christmas market shooting: suspect on the run after three killed
The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said the suspect was “notorious” to police and had a long criminal record. ’ Castaner, in the early hours of Wednesday, announced France was raising its security level to the highest alert. This means imposing border controls with neighbouring Germany where officials admitted the suspect could have fled.
The man fired three separate volleys into the crowds at the Christmas market then engaged twice with patrolling soldiers from Opération Sentinelle, a nationwide security operation established after a series of terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. About 350 members of the security forces have been searching for the gunman.
In a statement, the police prefecture said three people were killed and 13 injured, eight of them seriously. Police arrested and detained four people said to be “close to” Chekatt after raiding addresses linked to the suspect overnight. After the shootings, police cut off major roads into and out of the city.
A taxi driver, flagged down by the gunman and ordered to take him out of the city centre, told police the suspect had been injured in firefights.
A terrorism investigation has been opened, but Nuñez said it was too soon to establish the gunman’s motives.
“This individual is known for lots of crimes not linked to terrorism [and] spent several periods in prison.” It was during one of these sentences that he was flagged up because of a “radicalisation in the way he practised his religion”, Nuñez said.
“Right now, the terrorist motive for this attack has not been established, and I would advise extreme caution over this. The hunt is taking place and the priority is to find this attacker.”
In the early hours of Wednesday, Castaner announced France was raising its security level to the highest alert. This means imposing border controls with neighbouring Germany where officials admitted the suspect could have fled.
Around 350 security forces are searching for the gunman, a 29-year-old born in Strasbourg.
Police arrested and detained five people after raiding addresses linked to the suspect overnight. After the shootings, police cut off major roads into and out of the city.
Strasbourg’s Christmas market, which started in 1570, is one of France’s most popular seasonal events. The Grande Île where the market is held is surrounded by water, with the River Ill on one side and the Canal du Faux-Rempart on the other, and is accessible only by bridges.Strasbourg’s Christmas market, which started in 1570, is one of France’s most popular seasonal events. The Grande Île where the market is held is surrounded by water, with the River Ill on one side and the Canal du Faux-Rempart on the other, and is accessible only by bridges.
Since the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, the event has been held under high security. Access to the area is controlled and visitors’ bags are searched. Vehicles are banned from the area. Since the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, the event has been held under high security. Access to the area is controlled and visitors’ bags are searched. Vehicles have been banned from the area.
In 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. The perpetrator, Anis Amri, a Tunisian who had failed to gain asylum in Germany, was killed four days later in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy. In 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. The perpetrator, Anis Amri, a Tunisian who had failed to gain asylum in Germany, was killed four days later in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy.
The attack comes during a period of intense tension across France after four weeks of civil unrest by anti-government protesters from the gilets jaunes movement.The attack comes during a period of intense tension across France after four weeks of civil unrest by anti-government protesters from the gilets jaunes movement.
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