A manhunt is currently underway for a gunman who killed three people and wounded several others at a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday evening.
France has asked people around Strasbourg to stay put as its security operatives continue to search for the suspect who they identified as Cherif Chekatt, a 29 year old Strasbourg-born who is also known to the intelligence services as a potential security risk.
France has raised its security threat to the highest alert level and strengthened border controls. The German police have also tightened border controls across the Rhine river.
France Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said it was believed that the attacker had been injured by security forces but that could not be confirmed.
Nunez also said the suspect has a police record and had been in jail several times, most recently at the end of 2015. He added, the suspect had been monitored for religious radicalization.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said early on Wednesday that the shooter had evaded a police dragnet and was on the run, raising concerns of a follow-up attack.
He added the gunman exchanged shots with security forces twice as he escaped. His whereabouts now were unknown, and commandos and helicopters are also involved in the manhunt.
The Paris prosecutor said the motive for the attack was not known.
