Four dead, others wounded in Strasbourg attack

French officials said a shooting near the Christmas market in Strasbourg has left four people dead and close to 10 others wounded, leading to a lockdown of the European Parliament and other areas of the city on the border with Germany. Soldiers guarding the market shot and wounded the suspect, but he remains at large. Although authorities have not revealed a motive, prosecutors said they have opened a terrorism investigation.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said law enforcement officials have identified the suspected gunman, who has a criminal record. According to the prefect of the Strasbourg region, the man was flagged as a suspected extremist, and Stephane Morisse from the FGP Police union told the Associated Press that authorities went to the man’s residence earlier Tuesday to arrest him but the 29-year-old suspect was not there. Morisse said police found explosive materials at the home.

The shooting occurred in the city center, near Strasbourg’s world-famous Christmas market—the focus of an al-Qaeda terror plot on New Year’s Eve 2000—although it is not clear whether the market was the intended target this time.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said legislative sessions will continue for the rest of the week, adding that Parliament “will not be intimidated by terrorist or criminal attacks.”