HOLIDAY MARKET VIOLENCE
A soldier stands watch Tuesday after a man sprayed gunfire near the city’s famous Christmas market, killing three people, wounding 12 others and sparking a massive manhunt. France raised its terrorism alert level, and prosecutors have opened a terrorism inquiry. The market is a popular gathering place that was the focus of an Al Qaeda-linked plot in 2000. The assailant got inside a security zone around the venue and opened fire, Mayor Roland Ries said on BFM television. Authorities said that they had identified a suspect and that he had a criminal record. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the man was on a watch list of people who had potentially been radicalized. No other details about him were disclosed.