(Reuters) – At least one person was killed and 10 people were wounded in a shooting near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, the local prefecture said. Police locked down the area and launched a hunt for the shooter, who fled the scene, the police sources said. They said the gunman had been identified. Local authorities told people in the city’s Neudorf area and Etoile park to stay where they were.
“There were gunshots and people running everywhere,” one local shopkeeper told BFM TV. “It lasted about 10 minutes.” France remains on high alert after a wave of attacks commissioned or inspired by Islamic State militants since early 2015, in which about 240 people have been killed. The Christmas market was being held amid tight security this year, with unauthorized vehicles banned from surrounding streets during opening hours and checkpoints set up on bridges and access points to search pedestrians’ bags. READ MORE