Shooter kills 4, wounds 11 in France
A shooting in Strasbourg killed four and wounded 11 others near a famous Christmas market.
PARIS — A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed four people and wounded 11 others near a world-famous Christmas market Tuesday, sparking a lockdown and a search for the suspected gunman, who remained at large.
French prosecutors said a terrorism investigation was opened, though authorities did not announce a motive for the bloodshed. The city is home to the European Parliament, which was locked down after the shooting.
It was unclear if the market was targeted. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the suspect was previously flagged as a possible extremist.
Thousands of people in nearby buildings and a basketball stadium were allowed to leave after the lockdown was lifted.
The gunman has been identified and has a criminal record, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.
The death toll, first reported as one, rose to four by late Tuesday, according to two police union officials.
One official, Stephane Morisse of union FGP, said the alleged shooter was wounded by soldiers guarding the market.
Gendarmes went to the suspect’s home to arrest him earlier Tuesday, before the attack, but he wasn’t there, Morisse said. They found explosive materials, he said.
French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter did not aim for the soldiers patrolling in and around the Christmas market, but targeted civilians instead.
Several of the people wounded were in critical condition, the interior minister said.
Witnesses described hearing gunshots, screams and the shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out.
“I heard two or three shots ... then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time,” Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg.
“I thought maybe it’s firecrackers,” he said. “And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. There were police or soldiers shouting ‘Get inside!’ and ‘Put your hands on your head.’ ”
France has endured several high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens.
President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack.
Strasbourg’s wellknown market is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas season and is a popular gathering place.
The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg’s Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year’s Eve ushering in 2000.
The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 1 to 9 years.