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Police in France Hunt for Strasbourg Shooting Suspect, and a Motive Strasbourg Shooting Was Terrorism, France Says, as Police Search for Gunman
(about 2 hours later)
STRASBOURG, France — It remained unclear what motivated the gunman who opened fire at a crowded street market in Strasbourg, France, officials said Wednesday, as the police continued an intensive search for the attacker. STRASBOURG, France — The shooting at a crowded street market in Strasbourg, France, was an act of terrorism, officials said Wednesday, as the police continued an intensive search for the gunman who killed at least two people and wounded 12 others.
“The terrorist motivation of the act, as we speak, is not yet established,” said Laurent Nuñez, the deputy interior minister, although he cautioned that the investigation was still in its initial stages. Rémy Heitz, the Paris prosecutor, who handles terrorism investigations nationwide, said at a news conference in Strasbourg on Wednesday that witnesses had heard the attacker yell “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic, and that the targets and the suspect’s profile justified the opening of a terrorism investigation. Officials said the man suspected in the shooting had a criminal record and had served time in prison.
The attack on Tuesday night hit one of the most popular Christmas markets in France, unleashing chaos among the thousands of people milling around the temporary vendors’ chalets dotting Strasbourg’s historical neighborhood. The shooting recalled other attacks in recent years by the Islamist radicals in France, Belgium and other parts of Europe — but some witnesses wondered at first if the panic was related to the “Yellow Vest” protests that have paralyzed French cities in recent weeks. “He had been incarcerated multiple times and was known to the prison administration for his radicalization and his proselytizing attitude,” Mr. Heitz said of the attacker, identified only as Chérif C., 29, born in Strasbourg. He was released from prison in late 2015.
On Wednesday, the police said that three people were killed and 13 others wounded. Chérif C. was one of about 20,000 people flagged for possible radicalization by the French security services, and was also flagged with what is known in France as a Fiche S, or an S File, Mr. Heitz said. Four people in the suspect’s entourage were taken into custody overnight, he added.
[Read more about the Christmas market attack in Strasbourg here.] The attack Tuesday night hit one of France’s most popular Christmas markets, unleashing chaos among the thousands of people milling around the vendors’ stalls dotting Strasbourg’s historical neighborhood.
The market remained closed on Wednesday, leaving the city center mostly empty and cordoned off by security forces. Sports centers, cultural institutions and many shops in the area were closed for the day. The authorities initially said that three people had been killed, but Mr. Heitz later revised that death toll, specifying that two people were killed and that one was brain dead. Six people were seriously wounded, he said.
“It might be the biggest Christmas market in France — you’d never think of an attack when you hear the first gunshots,” said Marc Meyer, 32, who said he was standing by the market’s Christmas tree when he saw a panicked crowd rushing toward him around 8 p.m. “You think of a street show, you think of some agitation from the Yellow Vests, but you don’t think that an attack is happening.” The shooting recalled other attacks in recent years by Islamist extremists in France, Belgium and other parts of Europe but some witnesses wondered at first whether the panic was related to the “Yellow Vest” protests that have turned violent in recent weeks.
Jamel Beli, who was sitting on a nearby terrace when he heard the first gunshots, also thought some Yellow Vest protesters were behind the agitation. “It was so, so crowded,” said Mr. Beli, 42. “It could very well have been carnage.” The market remained closed on Wednesday, leaving the city center mostly empty and cordoned off by security forces. Sports centers, cultural institutions and many shops in the area were also closed.
Mr. Nuñez, speaking on France Inter radio, said that a 29-year-old suspect, whose name has not been made public, had an extensive criminal record — he was in prison as recently as 2015 — but had never been convicted of terrorism and did not appear to have tried to go to Syria. “It might be the biggest Christmas market in France — you’d never think of an attack when you hear the first gunshots,” said Marc Meyer, 32, who was standing by the market’s giant Christmas tree when he saw a panicked crowd rushing toward him around 8 p.m. “You think of a street show, you think of some agitation from the Yellow Vests, but you don’t think that an attack is happening.”
“He had several stays in prison, and it is during those stays that was noticed a radicalization of the way he practiced” Islam, Mr. Nuñez said. He confirmed reports that the police had raided the suspect’s home Tuesday morning in an unrelated murder case, but he said that the theory that the raid had pushed him to act was only “a hypothesis among others.” Jamel Beli, who was sitting on a nearby terrace when he heard the first gunshots, also thought the Yellow Vests were behind the agitation. “It was so, so crowded,” said Mr. Beli, 42. “It could very well have been carnage.”
The suspect is one of about 20,000 people flagged for possible radicalization by French security services, including by what is known is France as a Fiche S, or S File. Mr. Heitz said that the gunman was first seen shortly before 8 p.m. on the Rue des Orfèvres, in the heart of the Christmas market. He then moved through several streets, attacking with a handgun and a knife as he went.
Being flagged with such a file — the “S” stands for “la Sûreté de l’État,” or security of the state — does not mean that the person has been convicted of an offense or is even suspected of one. Instead, it is a way for French security forces to keep track of a wide range of people who are thought to potentially pose a security threat, in some cases merely because they are acquainted with someone else under watch. Four soldiers on patrol shot at him, wounding him in the arm, Mr. Heitz said, but he was able to escape and took a taxi to another area of Strasbourg. The driver told the police that the gunman had told him about the attack and tried justify it.
The taxi driver’s account helped the police to identify the suspect, Mr. Heitz said. Tuesday morning, before the attack, the police had raided Chérif C.’s home in an unrelated murder investigation and found a defensive grenade, a rifle, ammunition and several knives.
Laurent Nuñez, France’s deputy interior minister, told France Inter radio that it was possible that the suspect had fled into Germany, which is just across the Rhine Strasbourg, and that border checks had been strengthened immediately after the shooting.
Mr. Nuñez said that Chérif C. had never been convicted of terrorism and did not appear to have tried to go to Syria. But Mr. Heitz, the prosecutor, said that the suspect had an extensive criminal record, with 27 convictions, mostly for robberies and assaults, in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Being flagged with an S file — the “S” stands for La Sûreté de l’État, or security of the state — does not mean that the person has been convicted of an offense or is even suspected of one. Instead, it is a way for French security forces to keep track of a wide range of people who are thought to potentially pose a security threat, in some cases merely because they are acquainted with someone else under watch.
“The S File can target individuals who aren’t very dangerous, and it is used only to watch their movements and trips around the country,” Mr. Nuñez said. “It isn’t a criterion of dangerousness.”“The S File can target individuals who aren’t very dangerous, and it is used only to watch their movements and trips around the country,” Mr. Nuñez said. “It isn’t a criterion of dangerousness.”
Witnesses said the gunman used a handgun, Mr. Nuñez said, and although it could not be “ruled out” that the suspect had left France for Germany, he said that border checks were immediately strengthened. Delphine Rideau, the head of Maison des Adolescents, an organization in Strasbourg that helps local youth and that is involved in the prevention of radicalization, said that there had been several cases of radicalized individuals in Strasbourg, although not all were violent.
Mr. Nuñez said that around 15 terrorist plots had been thwarted since the beginning of the year, including one in which a “group of individuals” wanted to strike on Nov. 17, the first day of the Yellow Vest protests, to take advantage of the fact that the police were stretched thin. “We’ve seen petty criminals who became radicalized all of sudden, and others who were isolated, abandoned, and lost ground,” she said.
One of the gunmen in the Bataclan concert hall, one of the sites of the November 2015 attacks in and around Paris, was originally from the Strasbourg area, and French intelligence officers in 2016 detained seven men, five of them in Strasbourg, who were preparing to “go into action imminently.”
Mr. Nuñez said that around 15 terrorist plots had been thwarted since the beginning of the year in France, including one in which a “group of individuals” wanted to strike on Nov. 17, the first day of the Yellow Vest protests, to take advantage of the fact that police were stretched thin that day.
The Strasbourg Christmas market, whose first edition dates from the 16th century, opened on Nov. 23 and was expected to continue to Dec. 30. In the past few years, it has attracted more 2.5 million visitors per year.