PARIS, FR. (THECOUNT) — Cherif Chekatt has been identified by a top French official as the man killed in a shootout with police in Strasbourg, after a gunman killed three people near a Christmas market in Paris.

The official, who could earlier said the suspect could not be named because the operation was ongoing, named Chekatt as the the dead man who opened fire on police Thursday night. Officers fired back, killing him.

Advertisement

A local police official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said the man who opened fire was armed with a pistol and a knife. source

Chekatt is accused of killing three people and wounding 13 on Tuesday night.

More than 700 officers were deployed to find Chekatt, who had a long criminal record and had been flagged on a terror watch list.

Developing.