World

A gunman who killed three people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg has been identified by police as Strasbourg-born Chekatt Cherif, 29.French interior minister Christophe Castaner said there would be an increased police presence in towns and cities across France and border security would be heightened as the search for Cherif continues.As well as the three fatalities in Strasbourg, 12 people were injured, several critically, when gunshots were heard followed by screaming just after 8pm near the market in Place Kleber, which attracts millions of tourists each year.Sky sources have confirmed that one of the three victims killed was a Thai tourist.

Witnesses earlier said he was shot in the head and did not respond to attempts to revive him.The Thai embassy in Paris named him as 45-year-old Anupong Suebsamarn.

it said he had just arrived in Strasbourg and was planning to travel to Paris on Thursday.Police armed with machine guns were seen running into the square moments after the first shots were fired and it was quickly evacuated.Officers chased down the gunman for more than two hours after the incident, before they cornered him and a shootout entailed, which he was wounded, along with a soldier who was deployed as part of Operation Sentinel, set up after the 2015 Paris attacks to protect areas which could be a terrorism target.However Cherif eluded officers once more and is now still on the run.Police said he is a suspected robber who was due to be arrested hours earlier on Tuesday morning.His home was searched and they found explosive materials, but he was not there. 1:29 Video:Emergency services arrive on streets of Strasbourg after a gunman opens fire.The local prefecture said he was an "S file" security risk - a list of anyone in France suspected of being a radical.A terror investigation has been opened for murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise, the French prosecutor's office said, as they confirmed he is heading to Strasbourg.Strasbourg residents living nearby were told to remain inside by the Ministry of the Interior.A Sky News source said MEPs were among many people were stuck in buildings in Strasbourg because of the security lock down.

They have now been allowed to leave the area.Emmanuel Foulon, a press officer for the European Parliament, which is based two miles away, was in the square at the time and said there was panic and everyone got to the ground in restaurants around the square.Image:The market in Place Kleber attracts millions of tourists each yearSinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson, who had just left the market, told Sky News: "We were walking towards the scene of where the shooting took place."I heard over six shots and at that stage, there was chaos, confusion, everyone was running - there was pandemonium."There were some people with children walking towards the incident and we were telling them to move back."Most people were shocked, confused - there was pandemonium - people didn't understand what was happening - we hadn't [either].

We had heard the shots quite clearly and there were people running away from the scene."Image:A man was seen being tended toShe said there had been a "jovial atmosphere" at the market before the shots rang out.Several MEPs and journalists working inside the European Parliament said they were on lockdown inside the building, which is a few kilometres from the square.Malta MEP Roberta Metsola said she was on lockdown and Maltese journalists and her assistants were safe.James Francy, an adviser to an MEP, told Sky News: "I've seen two injured people who've just been taken away by medical services."Police and military are telling people to stay inside."This part of town was teaming with people at the time."Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, also located in Strasbourg, advised "all staff and visitors to stay at home or indoors".French president Emmanuel Macron is being kept informed of the situation and is sending his interior minister, Christophe Castaner, to the eastern French city, an Elysee palace official said.Theresa May said she was "shocked and saddened" by the attack and that her thoughts are "with all those affected and with the French people".Image:The mayor of Strasbourg said the suspect had not yet been apprehendedJean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said his thoughts are with the victims and that Strasbourg is a symbol of the peace and democracy of Europe."Values that we will always defend.

The Commission stands alongside France," he said.Sky News' Europe correspondent Mark Stone, who was at the market last night, said there was no security around the market, compared to two years ago when there was airport-style security to get onto the island where the market is.Strasbourg Christmas market is one of the oldest in Europe, with 300 wooden stalls set up in the city's historic centre from 23 November to Christmas Eve.Ten suspected Islamic militants plotted to blow up the market on the millennium and were jailed for up to nine years in 2004.France remains on high alert following a series of Islamic State inspired attacks in 2015 and 2016, which killed more than 200 people.





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