Officials: Five arrested in connection to shooting spree in France that killed two

pixinoo/iStock(STRASBOURG, France) — Police have detained five people in connection with a deadly shooting spree at a popular Christmas market in France, government officials said.

Two people were killed and at least 14 were injured Tuesday night when a suspected extremist opened fire at a market in Strasbourg, authorities said. Earlier, local authorities said three people had been killed.

The shooter, identified as Cherif Chekatt, 29, remained at large as of early Wednesday morning. Authorities said he had a history of committing petty crimes and had been flagged as a potential radical.

Government officials raised the threat level and deployed about 350 security forces to search for Chekatt.

The shooting has been treated as a terrorist attack, the Paris counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office told ABC News.

Police said Chekatt, who’s on France’s terror list, fired shots in three separate locations near the center of the city on the Rue des Orfèvres around 8 p.m. local time.

Members of the French military confronted the suspect between 8:20 p.m. and 9 p.m. and used their weapons twice in an attempt to intercept him, France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

French soldiers shot him, but he slipped away from the scene, officials said.

Witnesses said the suspect used a hand gun, but authorities haven’t confirmed those reports.

In addition to the approximately 350 military personnel searching for shooter are 100 judicial police officers, two helicopters and a special forces team, Castaner said.

Chekatt is on the “Fiche S” list, a list of people considered to be a threat to national security, authorities said.

The local prefecture ordered people in the area of Neudorf, a town southeast of Strasbourg, to stay in their homes.

Local schools will be open Wednesday, but parents will also have the option to keep their children at home, Castaner said, adding that extra security will be patrolling streets and Christmas markets.

A photo posted to Twitter shows people locked down inside the European Parliament building, in Strasbourg, after the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged citizens to display solidarity in the aftermath of the attack.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on email
Email
Share on print
Print