French police sweep Strasbourg in hunt for gunman
Macron expresses ‘the solidarity of the whole country’ towards the victims
STRASBOURG: Dozens of French police cordoned off an area in southern Strasbourg on Thursday where a gunman who killed three people when HE opened ire At THE City’s popular Christmas market was last seen.
An AFP reporter at the scene said police including members of the elite RAID intervention force blocked several streets in the Neudorf neighbourhood in the early evening.
The district is a short drive from the Strasbourg city centre where the gunman shot and stabbed shoppers before taking A taxi to LEE THE SCENE. THREE people were killed and 13 injured, according to an updated toll from French authorities.
More than 700 French security forces have been hunting for 29-yearold suspect Cherif Chekatt since the bloodshed on Tuesday night.
Police in several European countries have joined the manhunt for Chekatt, a Strasbourg native.
He is said to have been injured AFTER EXCHANGING ire with soldiers, But managed to escape and has not been seen since exiting the taxi in Neudorf.
Authorities published Chekatt’s picture late Wednesday in a bid to track the career criminal who has at least 27 convictions in four European countries.
Police described him as dangerous and urged people not to approach him.
A ifth person was DETAINED By police for questioning on Thursday, in addition to the suspect’s parents and two brothers who have been in custody since Wednesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “the solidarity of the whole country” towards the victims as he arrived for a European summit in Brussels.
“It is not only France that has been hit... but a great European city as well,” he added, referring to the seat of the European parliament in the eastern French city that lies on the border with Germany.
The police operation came as the French government urged “yellow vest” protesters not to hold another round of demonstrations this weekend, given the strain on the country’s security forces.
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux called on the anti-government protesters to be “reasonable” and not protest again Saturday, after nearly four weeks of often violent demonstrations which has led the government to offer a RANGE of inancial RELIEF to low Earners.
“Our security forces have been deployed extensively these past few weeks,” Griveaux told Cnews television.