Three people have died and thirteen injured, several very seriously, in the attack at the christmas market. Thai media report that one of the victims than a 45-year-old thai man, who was in Strasbourg with his wife.
the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs has no information that the swedes will be among the victims.
the 20-time on Tuesday night in a narrow street near the big cathedral in Strasbourg. Shortly thereafter, shot the man again at two nearby locations.
Police were quickly on the spot and the 29-year-old man injured when. He fled in a taxi that left him in the district Neudorf, near the border to Germany.
Even where it erupted in gunfire with the police, but the man still managed to escape. On Wednesday, police four people, the man’s parents and two of his siblings.
on the Rue des Orfèvres, the street where the man began firing with their automatic weapons.
” I heard the shots, was a little puzzled and called my parents. They convinced me that it must be firecrackers or fireworks as I had heard. It was only when I saw a video on Facebook ten minutes later that I realized what actually had happened, ” she says.
Julie Ingold. Photo: Pia Gripenberg
She still has a hard time understanding that the attack has occurred.
– this happens in other places in the world or in Paris. Not here in Strasbourg. Not at the christmas market.
on this cloudy, almost nollgradiga day when she stands with their fellow students Anaëlle Royer and Alexandra Hochstrasser on the street where the attack began.
a Few yards away, at a street corner, people have begun to light candles and leave flowers. They have tears in your eyes, stop for a moment and consider quietly the white roses before they wander on. A few shakes concern on the head.
Julie Ingold and her friends are not afraid, they say. The many police officers inger security, and there is much solidarity and community between the inhabitants.
” I am most angry. This is just not fair, ” says Julie Ingold urges.
Photo: Pia Gripenberg
According to the prosecutor Remy Heitz has witnesses stated that the offender was yelling “Allahu akbar” (God is greater) at the deed.
considering his objective, approach, gärningsmannaprofil and eyewitness testimonies that he heard shouting “Allahu akbar” has antiterrorpolisen been called in, ” says Remy Heitz.
The 29-year-old man was on the French security service’s list of individuals who are potential security risks. About 26,000 names on the list. But he were not monitored for religious extremism and has never been associated with terrorism in the past, according to the deputy minister of the interior, Laurent Nunez.
– During the fängelsevistelserna we discovered that he was radicalised, but there was never any sign that he was preparing an attack, ” says Nunez, who also fears that the man was no longer remain in the country.
the christmas market in Strasbourg is closed. Photo: Pia Gripenberg
including theft and burglary, in France, Switzerland and Germany.
Earlier on Tuesday, before the shooting, did the police a search warrant of the man in connection with a rånutredning. Then they found a grenade and several weapons. At the deed in the evening, was a 29-year-old also armed with a knife.
France has raised the terrorhotnivån to the highest and reinforced surveillance at the border. Even Germany has strengthened its controls. France’s interior minister Christophe Castaner says that the 720 police officers are mobilized in the pursuit of the offender.
in Strasbourg is higher then in the past. Unauthorized vehicles have not had access to nearby streets and the bags have been checked at the entrances to the market.
in the Year 2000, envisaged a group of terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda attack on the christmas market and Strasbourg cathedral. The attack could be prevented by French and German security forces. 14 people have been convicted for involvement in the planning.
On Wednesday held the christmas market closed. Also the sports halls and cultural institutions, was closed.
Just this week, the european Parliament has one of its sessions in Strasbourg. For safety reasons shut down parliament when the shooting became known. Many EU parliamentarians remained far into the night, before they had to leave the buildings.
Suddenly we received information that there have been the shootings fatal and that there was a person who was perceived as a threat, ” says Marita Ulvskog (S).
that were on the site were gathered in the meeting rooms and larger spaces in order to get continuous information.
” It was perceived very threatening and such an institution could be a target. In addition, usually such events trigger activities from other people. The people became anxious quite easily, ” says Marit Ulvskog.
At midnight could Marita Ulvskog get out of the building and went to the hotel she lives at.
– It sounds like a movie, and it really felt like a movie. Totally unreal and very uncomfortable.
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