Express & Star

Strasbourg shooting: What we know so far about the suspect

A gunman struck at a Christmas market on Tuesday evening.

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France Shooting

Hundreds of officers are searching for a 29-year-old man suspected of shooting three people dead at a Christmas market in Strasbourg.

Several others were wounded after a gunman opened fire near Place Kleber, one of the main squares in the city in eastern France.

Here’s what we know about the suspect:

– He has been named in the French media as Cherif C, who was born in Strasbourg in February 1989.

– The suspect was subject of a ‘fiche S’, literally an S card, which is used by police to flag someone who is considered a threat to national security. Although not grounds for arrest, a fiche S (which stands for state security) allows surveillance. Others who have been flagged under the system include Amedy Coulibaly who killed four hostages at a siege in a Kosher supermarket in 2015, days after the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

France Shooting
France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the suspect had served time in prison (Jean-Francois Badias/AP)

– Interior minister Christophe Castaner said the suspect was known to police services and had served time in prison in France and Germany for common law offences.

– BFMTV said the suspect was known to be part of radicalised networks in Strasbourg and was a “repeat offender” and a “delinquent”.

– His home was subject of a search on Tuesday morning as part of investigations into a robbery. He was not in but grenades were found.

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