Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images
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French officials issue terror charges in Christmas market attack
December 18, 2018
Man charged for allegedly supplying the gun used to kill five people, injure nearly a dozen others
French officials have issued preliminary terror charges against the man suspected of supplying the gun to the man who killed five people last week at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, The Associated Press reported.
The government charged the unnamed man in court Monday with criminal association with terrorists, along with possessing and supplying arms in connection with a terrorist enterprise. An official told the AP that the man's identity could not be released because the investigation is ongoing.
Authorities also arrested and detained two other suspects Monday in connection to the attack, according to prosecutors in Paris. They are suspected of "playing a role in supplying the firearm," an official told the AP.
What happened?
The 29-year-old man suspected of carrying out the attack escaped after the shootings that initially left four dead and injured 11 other people.
A massive manhunt ensued. The search ended Thursday when the suspect was discovered and then killed during a shootout with police.
The deceased suspect had allegedly yelled "Allah Akbar" before he attacked the people at the market in Strasbourg, France.
He had been on a terror watch list and also had a criminal record with petty crimes in France, Germany, and Switzerland, according to authorities.
What else?
Last week, the suspect's parents and two of his brothers were questioned and released by police.
Barto Orent-Niedzielski became the fifth casualty of the attack. The Polish man who worked at the European Parliament and as a journalist died Sunday from his injuries at a Strasbourg hospital.
Orent-Niedzielski reportedly fought the shooter and stopped him from entering a crowded club. His actions are believed to have prevented more injuries or possibly deaths.
"I knew him by sight. I am shocked. I had not realized that he was the one mortally wounded protecting other people. Honor to his memory. RIP," Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted Sunday.
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