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A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 14 december 2018

Official: Police kill man thought to be France shooter

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN he was wounded during an
ELAINE GANLEY exchange of fire with secu-
MSTYSLAV CHERNOV rity forces and a taxi driver
Associated Press dropped him off in Neudorf
STRASBOURG, France (AP) after he escaped.
— A man suspected of be- Prosecutors opened a ter-
ing the gunman who killed ror investigation. More than
three people near a Christ- 700 officers were deployed
mas market in Strasbourg to find Chekatt, who had
died in a shootout with po- a long criminal record
lice Thursday following a and had been flagged
two-day manhunt. for extremism, govern-
Interior Minister Christophe ment spokesman Benjamin
Castaner said the dead Griveaux told CNews tele-
man’s identity hasn’t been vision.
confirmed yet. But Castan- Asked about the instruc-
er said the “individual cor- tions they received,
responds to the description Griveaux said the focus
of the person sought since was catching Chekatt “as
Tuesday night,” 29-year-old soon as possible,” dead or
Cherif Chekatt. alive, and to “put an end to
A top police official also the manhunt.”
told The Associated Press So far, five people have
that “everything indicates” French police officers stand in the Neudorf neighborhood, in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, been arrested and re-
the man was Chekatt. Dec. 13, 2018. manded in custody in con-
The official could not be Associated Press nection with the investiga-
named because he is not armed with a pistol and a others were fighting for Security forces, including tion, including Chekatt’s
authorized to speak pub- knife. their lives. the elite Raid squad, spent parents and two of his
licly on ongoing investiga- The shooting occurred in More than 700 officers were two hours searching in Neu- brothers.
tions. the Neudorf neighborhood deployed to find Chek- dorf on Thursday based The Paris prosecutor’s of-
Castaner said the suspect of Strasbourg, where police att, who had a long crimi- on “supposition only” that fice said the fifth, who was
opened fire on police searched intensively earlier nal record and had been Chekatt could have been arrested Thursday at an un-
Thursday night when offi- Thursday for Cherif Chekatt, flagged for extremism, gov- hiding in a building nearby disclosed location, was a
cials tried to arrest him. a 29-year-old suspected of ernment spokesman Benja- two days after the attack, member of Chekatt’s “en-
“The moment they tried being the Christmas market min Griveaux told CNews a French police official tourage” but not a family
to arrest him, he turned gunman. television. said. Chekatt grew up in member. France has raised
around and opened fired. Chekatt is accused of kill- Asked about the instruc- Neudorf. its three-stage threat index
They replied,” Castaner ing three people and tions they received, Chekatt allegedly shouted to the highest level since
said. wounding 13 on Tuesday Griveaux said the focus “God is great!” in Arabic the attack and deployed
A local police official, who night. Castaner said earlier was catching Chekatt “as and sprayed gunfire from 1,800 additional soldiers
also spoke on condition of Thursday that three of the soon as possible,” dead or a security zone near the across the country to help
anonymity, said the man injured had been released alive, and to “put an end to Christmas market Tuesday patrol streets and secure
who shot at police was from hospital and three the manhunt.” evening. Authorities said crowded events.q

Turkey train crash leaves 9 dead, dozens injured

By BURHAN OZBILICI ger died after being hos- the accident occurred 12
SUZAN FRASER pitalized while the others minutes after the train left
Associated Press were killed at the scene. the main station and that it
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Television footage showed had not yet gained its max-
high-speed train hit a rail- emergency services work- imum speed.
way engine and crashed ing to rescue passengers “The train was not fast at
into a pedestrian overpass from wrangled cars and that time yet,” she said.
Thursday at a station in the debris. Hurriyet newspaper “Suddenly, there was a
Turkish capital of Ankara, said sniffer dogs assisted ef- frightening breakage ...
killing nine people and in- forts to find survivors. Turhan and the train was off the
juring dozens, officials said. said later no one else was rail.” Konya, about 260 ki-
The 6:30 a.m. train from believed to be trapped. lometers (160 miles) south
Ankara to the central Turk- It wasn’t immediately clear of Ankara, is home to the
ish city of Konya collided if a signaling problem tomb of the Sufi mystic and
head-on with the engine, caused the crash. Authori- poet Jalaladdin Rumi, at-
which was checking the Members of rescue services work at the scene of a train accident ties detained three state tracting thousands of pil-
tracks at the capital’s small in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. railway employees over grims and tourists. The crash
Marsandiz station, Trans- Associated Press suspected negligence and occurred during an annual
port Minister Mehmet Cahit carrying 206 passengers, pass, which then collapsed President Recep Tayyip Er- week of remembrance for
Turhan told reporters af- usually passes through that onto the train. Three engine dogan vowed a thorough Rumi, when many travel to
ter inspecting the site. The station without stopping. drivers and six passengers investigation. Konya to watch Whirling
high-speed train, which the At least two cars derailed, were killed in the crash, Passenger Ayse Ozyurt told Dervishes, members of a
Anadolu Agency said was hitting the station’s over- Turhan said. One passen- the IHA news agency that Sufi sect, perform. q