The gunman behind Wednesday’s shooting at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, was shot dead by local police early this morning Bangkok time, as the Islamic State jihadist group claimed him as one of its “soldiers.”
More than 700 French security forces had been hunting for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt since the shooting incident — the latest in a string of jihadist attacks to rock France.
At about 2am Bangkok time on Wednesday (GMT+7), Chekatt opened fire on shoppers at the Christmas Market in the city bordering Germany. The death toll officially rose to three yesterday, when another person who had suffered critical injuries was pronounced dead. Their identity has not been revealed at this point.
In addition to those three confirmed deaths, another victim has been declared brain dead, according to BBC.
Anupong Suebsamarn, a 45-year-old Thai national who was traveling in France with his wife, was the first victim confirmed dead. The Chachoengsao native had just arrived in Europe the day before his death.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said three police had tried to approach Chekatt after spotting him on the street in the Neudorf area of Strasbourg, where he grew up, but he opened fire.
“They immediately returned fire and neutralized the assailant,” Castaner said.
A source close to the investigation said a woman spotted a man fitting Chekatt’s description with a wounded arm on Thursday afternoon and alerted authorities, who sealed off the area and used a helicopter with thermal cameras to hunt for the suspect.
People gathered at the police cordon where Chekatt was shot and applauded, some shouting “bravo!” a source said.
“It’s really a huge relief,” said Alain Fontanel, a local official in the mayor’s office, describing the anxiety that locals had felt since Tuesday’s attack.
“We didn’t really feel very safe,” an 18-year-old local named Arthur told reporters.
The propaganda wing of the Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for the attack.
The perpetrator of “the attack in the city of Strasbourg … is one of the soldiers of the Islamic
State and carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of the coalition” against IS, the Amaq agency said in a message posted on Twitter.
Chekatt, who lived in a rundown apartment block a short drive from the city center, had been flagged by French security forces in 2015 as a possible Islamic extremist.
Family distraught
Suchart Suebsamarn, a 73-year-old uncle of Anupong, said today that the family is distraught over the death of their beloved. Suchart said that Anupong’s mother, Yoklang, cries every time she hears about her deceased son in the news. He further asked that media respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.
Neither of Anupong’s parents have spoken to reporters at this point, and Surachart has not commented on the death of the gunman.
Suchart said that the Thai consul had informed him that the French government could take up to 15 days to perform an autopsy, and the Allianz Ayudhya insurance company will be responsible for the transportation of Anupong’s body back to Thailand, Thairath reported.
Tha Thai Embassy in Paris is also assisting the family in redeeming compensation from the French government as a result of a terrorist attack.
Suchart traveled to Pattaya today to meet with the representatives of Thai Life Insurance, the company his nephew had contracts with, and received a compensation fund of THB729,350 (about US$22,250), on behalf of Anupong’s mother, who is the beneficiary.
Suchart said that Anupong’s wife Naiyana may be returning to Thailand before the autopsy is completed.
“Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice, related agencies as well as airlines have provided assistance to us. I’d like to thank the Thai people there [in France] for taking care of my niece … his [Anupong’s] wife so well. They took her into their homes,” he told Pattaya News.
“No matter where we are in the world … it’s so great to be Thai. We always take care of each other,” he said.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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