The Champs-Elysees in Paris, a popular tourist destination, was closed after a shooting incident Thursday evening. According to Johanna Primevert, spokeswoman of the Paris police, the gunman opened fire at police guarding the subway station close to Franklin Roosevelt, located at the center of the famous French avenue.
A police officer perished in the shooting incident. Two others were injured. The gunman fled the scene but was soon killed by pursuing policemen. The shooting occurred at 10 minutes before nine in the evening, local time.
French elections
The shooting occurred a few days before French citizens go to the polls for the scheduled presidential elections. The French presidential election is on Sunday. Many of the presidential candidates ended their campaigns early as a sign of respect.
Francois Hollande, the French President is not ruling out that it was an act of terrorism. Authorities have yet to declare if this was indeed a terrorist attack because it seems that the man acted alone.
Responsibility for Paris Shooting
Islamic extremist group, ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack. While the French authorities have not released the identity of the gunman because of the ongoing investigations, the group said he was a Belgian national with the pseudonym Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki. The name is an indication that the gunman already has ties to the extremist group. Authorities took note of the quick claim of the group.
Ongoing investigations
Paris has been on alert since the terrorist attack in 2015 that killed more than 200 people. In the latest incident, a witness said that a car parked in front of the bus carrying policemen. A man got out of the car with an automatic weapon, fired at the policemen six times and hid behind a truck afterwards. One policeman was killed right on the spot and two others were seriously wounded. No civilian was hurt in the shooting incident.
Prosecutors have started a terrorism investigation after the shooting. Prosecutor Francois Molins said the lone gunman has been identified but it will not be made public due to the ongoing investigations. He did mention that the gunman was 39 years old. He added that authorities are searching the residence of the man at Chelles, Seine-et-Marne, located in the eastern part of Paris to know more about the attacker and to ascertain if there were accomplices.
According to French authorities, the man who fired at policemen on Thursday was already known to the country’s security services. He is said to be involved in radical Islamist activities. In the past he has shot and wounded a police officer. He was already on the radar of the DGSI, the domestic security service of France and was also included in the surveillance file called Fiche S.
A source who is intimate with the ongoing investigations said that the gunman was French. In 2001, he shot two police officers. He was caught but while he was being questioned, he managed to grab the gun of a police officer and fired at him three times. He was convicted for that incident. He already has a criminal record, as he had been involved in several violent robberies in the past.
Prosecutors are still trying to find the motive for the shooting.
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