Strasbourg Christmas market shooter may have fled France amid manhunt

A suspected extremist gunman who killed two people and wounded 14 others in an attack near Strasbourg’s Christmas market may have fled France.

Hundreds of officers are looking for Cherif Chekatt, 29, who was on a security watch list when he allegedly opened fire in the city centre, just hours after police raided his home.

It is believed Strasbourg-born Chekatt, who is of Moroccan origin, was wounded in a gun battle with French security forces before he hijacked a taxi and evaded police, sparking a nationwide manhunt.

Reports claim he was known to be part of radicalised networks in Strasbourg, and he was wanted for an attempted homicide last summer.

France has raised its security threat to its highest level and neighbouring Germany is also on alert.

Five people are being questioned over their ties to the suspect, who lived in Strasbourg, which lies on the France’s eastern border with Germany.

Police announced on Wednesday morning that three people were killed and 13 were injured – eight of them seriously.

However, the toll was later revised to two dead and 14 injured – nine of them seriously.

One of those killed in Tuesday night’s shooting was a Thai holidaymaker who had just arrived in Strasbourg.

Thailand’s embassy in Paris named him as Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, who was planning to travel to the French capital on Thursday.

Eyewitnesses said he was shot in the head and did not respond to attempts to revive him.

Earlier on Wednesday, a police operation was underway in an area near Strasbourg Cathedral.

A Reuters witness saw police officers securing a zone near the area where shots were fired.

The officers later left the area.

The anti-terrorist section of Paris’ public prosecutor’s office is leading the investigation amid the manhunt for Chekatt, who was known to French intelligence services.

He was subject to a “fiche S”, literally an S card, which is used by police to flag someone who is considered a threat to national security.

Although not grounds for arrest, a fiche S (which stands for state security) allows surveillance.

Others who have been flagged under the system include Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four hostages at a siege in a Kosher supermarket in 2015, days after the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

Interior minister Christophe Castaner said the suspect was known to police services and had served time in prison in France and Germany for common law offences.

He was released from jail in Germany in 2017 after he was convicted of theft in the city of Singen.

BFMTV said the suspect was known to be part of radicalised networks in Strasbourg and was a “repeat offender” and a “delinquent”.

His home was subject of a search on Tuesday morning as part of investigations into a robbery and attempted homicide that happened last summer.

He was not in but grenades and a rifle were found, according to French media.

France has raised its security threat to the highest alert level and strengthened border controls.

On the opposite side of the Rhine river, German police also tightened border controls, officials said.

Strasbourg’s Christmas market, one of the oldest in Europe, will remain closed on Wednesday.

The first shots were fired just before 8pm local time near Place Kleber.

The gunman opened fire in three different locations – and was twice engaged by security forces from Operation Sentinelle, a military operation that has been in place across the country since the January 2015 terror attacks in Paris.

In response to Tuesday’s attack, the Foreign Office warned Britons in Strasbourg: “There is an ongoing incident in the city of Strasbourg. The local authorities are advising people to stay indoors. You should avoid the area and follow the advice of local authorities.”

Source: Mirror