Shooting in Strasbourg, France leaves four dead (Update: Gunman cornered)

There has been a shooting in the city of Strasbourg, France near a famous Christmas market that has been around for nearly 450 years. As I write this, AFP is just reporting the death toll is now 2 with 11 others injured. The Guardian reports the gunman, who is still on the run after a shootout with police, has been identified. Authorities are saying this was an act of terrorism.

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Police said the lone gunman had struck in different places around the city centre just before 8pm where the market, which attracts millions of tourists every year, is taking place…

The anti-terrorist section of the Paris proscutor’s office declared the incident to be an act of terrorism and announced an inquiry had been opened into “murder and attempted murder in relation to a criminal enterprise”.

France’s interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said the gunman “has been identified” and was known to police who were searching for him.

Police confirmed the gunman, aged 29, and born in Strasbourg, is on the national “Fiche S” list of people considered a potential security risk.

Officers said he had shot at soldiers patrolling as part of the nationwide Operation Sentinelle, reportedly injuring one of them. Sentinelle is a French military operation introduced in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in and around Paris in January 2015.

The ‘Fiche S’ list includes people who are considered a serious threat to national security. Here’s a map of Strasbourg which sits on the border with Germany.

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Some images of the Christmas market which began in 1570 and is said to be the oldest in Europe:

Here’s an eyewitness who tried to save the life of one of the shooting victims:

I’ll update this as more information comes in.

Update: Sky News is now reporting the death toll is four and the suspect has been cornered.

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Police have cornered a gunman after he shot dead four people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg…

Officers chased down the gunman for more than two hours after the incident, before they cornered him and a shootout entailed.

Police said he is a 29-year-old suspected robber who was due to be arrested hours earlier on Tuesday morning.

BBC has a bit more on the attempted arrest:

According to France’s BFM TV the man had fled his apartment in the Neudorf district of the city on Tuesday morning as it was being searched by police in connection with a robbery.

Grenades were found during the search.

How did a guy on an extremist watch list get grenades?

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