Gunman cried ‘God is great’ as he shot his victims
Extremist still on the run after two die near market
A 29-YEAR-OLD extremist suspected of killing two people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg shouted “God is great” as he opened fire.
A massive manhunt is under way for Cherif Chekatt after the shooting which left another person brain dead and 12 injured.
Prosecutor Remy Heitz said witnesses heard the gunman shout “Allahu Akbar” – “God is Great” in Arabic – during chaotic scenes in the city in eastern France.
One of those killed was named as Thai national Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, who had been on holiday in France with his wife.
They had reportedly planned to be in Paris but the yellow vest protests in the capital caused them to change their itinerary and go to Strasbourg instead.
Mr Heitz said the gunman was shot in the arm during an exchange of fire with soldiers before taking a taxi to another part of the city. Chekatt was armed with a handgun and a knife. He also said police found a grenade, a rifle and four knives during a search on Tuesday morning of Chekatt’s house in an investigation over an attempted murder.
Police union officials said
that Chekatt had a long criminal record for offences including armed robbery and that he was monitored as a suspected religious radical by the French intelligence services.
A judicial official said that Chekatt’s father and two brothers were among four people taken into custody as part of the investigation. He said other members of Cherkatt’s family are known for radical views.
Interior minister Christophe Castaner said 720 officers are hunting for the gunman and the French government has increased its security alert system Vigipirate to its highest level.
Mr Castaner said: “The government has decided to move the security level to “Emergency Attack” with stricter controls at the borders, and the implementation of reinforced controls on all the Christmas markets that are taking
place in France to avoid the risk of copycat attacks.”
Witnesses described shots and screams after the gunman
opened fire in a city that is home to the European Parliament and considers itself a capital of Europe – and promotes itself as the “capital of Christmas”.
Senior Interior Ministry official Laurent Nunez said the suspect had been radicalised in prison and had been monitored by French intelligence services since his release in late 2015, because of his suspected religious extremism. At Chekatt’s apartment, in
an outer neighbourhood of Strasbourg, the lock of the door was broken at his apartment and police were guarding the building.
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said he was rarely home. She said she last saw him on Monday.
The suspected attacker has more than two dozen convictions which also included crimes in Germany and Switzerland, according to court documents.
There are reinforced controls on all French Christmas markets. Christophe Castane, French Interior Minister.