As many as three people were killed and 13 others were injured in a shooting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) As many as three people were killed and 13 others were injured in a shooting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
The shooting occurred close to the world-famous Christmas market near one of Strasbourg's central squares. The 29-year-old suspect was born in Strasbourg and was already known to the French security services as a possible terrorist threat.
According to the French Interior Ministry, 350 police and military officers were deployed to hunt the gunman.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the government had raised the country's security alert level to "emergency attack" and reinforced control at the borders.
"Counter-terrorism measures were reinforced in France. The government decided to raise terror alert level and reinforce border controls. Security will also be reinforced at all Christmas markets across France," Castaner said at a press conference in Strasbourg.
The shooter has been on France's "fiche S" watch list for individuals considered to be a serious national security threat.
"This man ... was known to the security services and was convicted in France and Germany for violations of law," Castaner stressed.
According to the France Info broadcaster, police went to the suspect's home to arrest him on Tuesday, before the attack, as part of an investigation into an attempted homicide and robbery, but he was not there. Gendarmes later found explosive materials during a search.
The attacker, who was injured in an exchange of gunfire with soldiers, fled the scene in a hijacked taxi, the BFMTV broadcaster reported.
STRASBOURG MAYOR DECLARES A DAY OF MOURNING
Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries said the city would officially be in mourning on Wednesday following the attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who held a crisis meeting with cabinet officials in Paris, said on Twitter that the "solidarity of the entire nation" was with Strasbourg, the victims and their families.
A number of world leaders have also expressed their solidarity with France, including UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.
