UPDATE 11:59 P.M. EST:
The terror suspect remains at large as France raises its terror alert level and sends reinforcements to the city of Strasbourg.
French officials corrected reports on the death toll, revealing that the gunman killed three people, not four, and seriously injured six others in "three parts of the eastern city of Strasbourg with a shooting spree," according to the Associated Press.
AP reports,
France’s interior minister says a gunman “sowed terror” in three parts of the eastern city of Strasbourg with a shooting spree that killed three people and left six others with serious injuries.
Earlier police union officials had said four people were killed. Officials did not explain the reason for the conflicting death tolls.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said early Wednesday that some 350 security officers and two helicopters are involved in the search for the assailant after the Tuesday night attack.
He told reporters in Strasbourg that France is raising its terror alert level and sending security reinforcements to Strasbourg. At the same time he said the city is lifting its confinement order after hours of lockdown in multiple neighborhoods.
A terrorism investigation has been opened. The motive for the attack is unclear.
CNN reports that the terror level has been raised to "emergency terror attack" status and that "more than 350 security forces have been mobilized to find the gunman" as part of the Paris Prosecutor's office terror investigation.
Twelve people are injured with six reported to be in critical condition as of early Wednesday.
UPDATE 6:01 P.M. EST:
The death toll has risen to 4 as the search continues for the terror suspect at large who opened fire near a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday.
He is said to be wounded.
AP reports,
Two French police union officials say four people have died after a gunman started shooting near Strasbourg’s Christmas market and the suspect was wounded, but is still at large.
One of the officials, Stephane Morisse from the FGP Police union, told The Associated Press authorities went to the alleged assailant’s residence earlier Tuesday to arrest him but the 29-year-old suspected of ties to radicalism wasn’t there. Morisse says police found explosive materials at the home.
Morisse said that after the evening shooting, soldiers guarding the Christmas market shot and wounded the suspect before he escaped.
A terrorism investigation has been opened into Tuesday’s attack, which put parts of the city on lockdown.
AFP reports that the shooter, who was on a terror watch list, is believed to be a 29-year-old man born in the French city of Strasbourg and was known by authorities as a "security threat."
ORIGINAL STORY:
Two people are dead and at least 11 injured after a mass shooting took place near a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday.
Other outlets are saying local media are reporting that the death toll has risen to 4.
A search is currently underway for the suspect at large, who has reportedly been identified by authorities as a man on a terrorist watch list.
The shooting is being treated as a terrorist attack, as France’s counterterrorism unit has opened an investigation into the incident.
NBC News reports,
The shooting took place around 8 p.m. near a Christmas market in the French-German border city of Strasbourg that attracts millions of tourists every year.
As of about 10:45 p.m. local time, the suspect was still at large, and police were engaged in a firefight in the neighborhood of Neudorf in Strasbourg. It wasn't immediately clear if the firefight was connected to the deadly shooting, officials said.
Of the 11 wounded in the incident, seven had serious injuries and four had minor injuries, officials said.
Reuters reports that the European Parliament, “which is sitting in Strasbourg this week, was put into lockdown.”
President Emmanuel Macron has been briefed on the shooting.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to MRCTV for updates.