As Twitchy reported Tuesday night, a gunman opened fire at a Christmas market in the town of Strasbourg, France, killing three and leaving one victim brain-dead.
The suspect, Chérif Chekatt, known to be on a terror watchlist, managed to escape but was shot and killed by French police Thursday after a two-day manhunt. The Wall Street Journal reported that the extremist group Islamic State described Chekatt as “a soldier” on its Amaq news agency.
BREAKING: Suspect in deadly shooting in Strasbourg, France "neutralized" during standoff with police, authorities say. https://t.co/VchdOjfBuI pic.twitter.com/YNJpxPudqx
— ABC News (@ABC) December 13, 2018
French police say they shot and killed Chérif Chekatt, the man who allegedly killed three people and injured several others near a Christmas market in Strasbourg https://t.co/1XV9ipjUTI
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 13, 2018
Breaking: Suspect in French terror attack killed by police after shootout https://t.co/waI87TJS5H
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 13, 2018
Main suspect in Strasbourg attack has been killed: police sources https://t.co/jmEAW7UaDP pic.twitter.com/6DuAo3njED
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 13, 2018
Most people had guessed the shooter’s motive on Tuesday night, but get this: Chekatt has been convicted 27 times.
UPDATE: Chérif Chekatt, the gunman who killed 3 people at a Christmas market in #Strasbourg France shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack.
He had also been convicted 27 times for several offenses committed in France, Germany, and Switzerland.
— Alana Mastrangelo (@ARmastrangelo) December 12, 2018
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It’s being investigated as a terrorist attack but will anything be done so that this doesn’t happen again?
I doubt it.— Nate (on the) Stone (@nes_nathan) December 13, 2018
TheBlaze reports that five people have been arrested in connection to the attack, including Chekatt’s parents, two of his brothers, and a member of his “entourage.”
Rukmini Callimachi is a correspondent for the New York Times who covers ISIS:
14. Le Parisien has intriguing new details which, if confirmed, place the gunman’s actions in alignment with ISIS: Victims were shot in the head and several were stabbed; After hijaking a taxi, gunman told driver he was doing this to “avenge” his “brothers killed in Syria.” pic.twitter.com/TSIje3ObTk
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 13, 2018
16. Today ISIS’ Naba newsletter was published on Telegram. They included a write-up on the Strasbourg attack in their “World News” section. (Note: This is *not* a claim of responsibility. Just shows the terrorist group is officially noticing the event). Rough translation appended pic.twitter.com/yhkFTNVbLi
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 13, 2018
1. Mere hours after the gunman who killed 2 people and wounded around a dozen at one of Europe’s most iconic Christmas markets, the Islamic State issued a bulletin on its official news agency claiming responsibility for the murders: pic.twitter.com/8f9zQMknLc
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 13, 2018
According to The Guardian, Chekatt was born in Strasbourg in 1989 and dabbled in petty crimes but moved into Muslim extremism in a prison stay between 2013 and 2015. By the age of 29 he had 27 convictions for theft and violence.
“On the morning of the Strasbourg attack,” The Guardian reports, “he was to have been arrested in connection with attempted murder linked to an armed robbery that went wrong last summer.”
Related:
Suspect on terror watch list kills two, injures 11 in shooting near Christmas market in France https://t.co/HfpzHrAbBt
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 11, 2018
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