Strasbourg shooting: Gunman at large after two killed and 11 injured - BBC News

Two people have been killed and 11 others wounded in a shooting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.

The gunman, known to security services, is on the run and is being hunted by police. He had been injured in an exchange of gunfire with a soldier, police said.

The shooting happened close to a Christmas market in one of the central squares, Place Kléber.

France's counter terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Confirming the death toll had risen to two, the French interior minister, Christophe Castaner, who is on his way to the city, called it a "serious public security incident".

Seven of the injured are said to be in a serious condition.

Police said the suspect was already known to the security services as a possible terrorist threat.

Security officials have cordoned off the area around the Christmas market and trams have been stopped, according to reports.

Residents in the Neudorf and Etoile park districts have been urged to stay indoors while the hunt for the gunman continues.

The motive for the attack is unclear. The Christmas market has been the target of threats from Islamist extremists in the past.

Panic in the city centre

Eyewitness Peter Fritz told the BBC he heard gunfire and found a person who had been shot, lying on a bridge. He said he tried to resuscitate him but the man died.

Local journalist Bruno Poussard wrote on Twitter that there had been a dozen shots fired on his street in the city centre - one or two to begin with, then in bursts.

Emmanuel Foulon, a press officer for the European Parliament, wrote that there was "panic" in the centre following the sound of gunfire and that police with guns were running through the streets.

Strasbourg deputy mayor Alain Fontanel tweeted: "Shooting in downtown Strasbourg. Thank you all for staying home while waiting for a clarification of the situation."

A shopkeeper told BFM TV: "There were gun shots and people running everywhere. It lasted about 10 minutes."

The European Parliament, which has a base in Strasbourg, was sealed off with no-one able to leave or enter the building.

British MEP Richard Corbett tweeted that he was in a restaurant in the city and the doors had been locked.

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