Police conduct op near Christmas market as Strasbourg shooter remains at large – Reuters

Police have carried out an operation near the site of a shooting that has killed two and left 14 wounded in the French city of Strasbourg, Reuters reports. Security forces are still trying to apprehend the suspected gunman.

Police officers were seen securing a zone close to the site of the city’s Christmas market, where the deadly attack had taken place just hours earlier.

Hundreds of French police are taking part in a manhunt to locate Cherif Chekatt, 29, a Strasbourg native who is believed to be the gunman who carried out the attack. Five other people have been detained in connection with the shooting, according to French authorities.

Chekatt had been placed on a terror watch list and was known to intelligence services as a potential security threat. He had previously served prison sentences in both France and Germany. According to the Daily Mail, Chekatt was sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 for a knife attack on a 16-year-old.

The Christmas market attack came hours after police attempted to arrest Chekatt at his home on charges of armed robbery – but the suspect was nowhere to be found. Police did however find a grenade.

Chekatt was armed with a handgun and a knife when he carried out the shooting. He fled the scene after exchanging gunfire with security forces and is believed to be wounded. No motive has been established for the attack.

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