3 dead, 12 wounded in shooting

PARIS— A shooting in the French city of Strasbourg killed three people and wounded 12 others, officials said, sparking a broad lockdown and major security operation around a world-famous Christmas market Tuesday. Authorities said the shooter was wounded but remains at large.

French prosecutors said a terrorism investigation was opened into the shooting, though authorities haven’t announced a motive. It’s unclear if the market — which was the nucleus of an al Qaeda plot in 2000 — was targeted. The city is also home to the European Parliament, which was locked down after the shooting.

The gunman has been identified and has a criminal record, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. The prefect of the Strasbourg region says the gunman had been flagged as a suspected extremist. Castaner said Wednesday that some 350 security officers and two helicopters are involved in the search for the assailant.

The attack came as France has been wracked by four weeks of protests against President Emmanuel Macron, and police forces have been stretched by fighting rioting and other protestrelated unrest. Macron himself adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace on Tuesday night to be able to monitor the events, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack.

The shooting recalled a 2000 terror plot on Strasbourg’s Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were later sentenced to prison for their role in a plot to blow up the market on New Year’s Eve.