French Christmas Market Shooting, Gunman at Large

Paris: A massive hunt was underway on Wednesday for a gunman who opened fire near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg, killing three people and injuring 12 others, police said. More than 350 police gendarmes (paramilitary police officers) and soldiers supported by air units have been mobilised to find the 29-year-old suspect, who was already known to security services as a possible threat.

The Paris Prosecutor’s office told CNN that their anti-terror section is in charge of the investigation. Strasbourg’s famed Christmas Market is one of the oldest in Europe and draws millions of visitors each year. The suspect entered the perimeter of the market by the city’s Corbeau Bridge and began shooting at passers-by on the Rue des Orfevres at 8 p.m., on Tuesday, when many were in the middle of their Christmas shopping. Anti-terror police descended on the market and attempted to apprehend the suspect, who French media reported was injured in one of the exchanges. The suspect is then believed to have jumped into a taxi and fled the scene. Of the 12 injured, six people were in critical condition, authorities said. (IANS)

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