Four people are now dead after a shooting at a Christmas market in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, with French police exchanging gunfire with the attacker.
The French city’s mayor confirmed the attack, which occurred close to the famed Christmas market in one of the central squares, Place Kleber.
A French police officer stands near the shooting site at the Christmas Market in Strasbourg.
EPA
Emergency services work at the scene of the shooting in Strasbourg, France.
Reuters
Police initially said only one person had been killed by the gunman, but later revised the number of victims, to four.
At least six others were wounded in the shooting, with three understood to be in a critical condition.
French military and police launched a large-scale manhunt after the incident and officers exchanged fire with the attacker a short time later.
French soldiers wounded the suspected gunman as he fled from the scene of the shooting.
EPa
Local media has reported the suspect was initially wounded by soldiers near the site of the initial shooting.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the shooter had been identified and had a criminal background.
It’s believed he was a 29-year-old suspected armed robber and had been placed on France’s “S” watch list of suspected extremists.
Police are investigating a possible terrorism motive for the shooting, saying a special anti-terrorism prosecutor was assessing the situation.
The suspected shooter was due to be arrested by police earlier in the day over a separate attempted murder, a source close to the investigation told AFP.
Emergency services were on high alert, prior to the attack.
EPA
“Serious public security event under way in Strasbourg. Residents are asked to stay at home,” the French Interior Ministry said.
Police have cordoned off the area and trams have been stopped. There have also been reports of diners being ordered to remain in restaurants and bars while police search the streets.
France’s anti-terror prosecutor is now “assessing Strasbourg shooting situation”, prosecutors have told AFP.
The Strasbourg-based European Parliament was on lockdown after reports of the shooting emerged, with Members, staff and journalists unable to leave the building, according to Member Siegfried Muresan.
The parliament is currently in plenary session, with hundreds of MEPs and officials having made the monthly visit to Strasbourg from Brussels.
Local journalist posted to Twitter, saying they’d heard a dozen shots fired on the street.
Emmanuel Foulon, a press officer for the European Parliament, wrote that there was “panic” in the centre following the sound of gunfire and that police with guns were running through the streets.
Strasbourg’s Christmas market, draws millions of tourists every year, a source at French security forces told Reuters.
Security has been stepped up in recent years after a series of attacks in France by Islamist gunmen since 2015.
Special anti-terror army units have been deployed and soldiers and armed police are regularly seen patrolling among the 300 wooden chalets that make up the market.
The shooting on Tuesday comes at a time when French security fores are stretched after more than three weeks of anti-government demonstrations.
Nearly 90,000 police were deployed on Saturday for the fourth round of protests by so-called “yellow vests” which led to violence in many cities.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner was heading to the scene of the shooting on Tuesday evening.
Three years after groups of jihadists gunned down and blew up 130 people in Paris on November 13, 2015, French counter-terror officials say their focus has shifted.
Rather than coordinated attacks, their main concern is attacks by “lone wolves” — self-radicalised individuals acting without links to terror groups such as Islamic State.
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