Gunshots near Christmas market in Strasbourg, France

Paris: At least one person was killed and six people were wounded in a shooting near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, police sources said.

French police told Reuters that the gunman is on the run.

"There were gun shots and people running everywhere," one local shopkeeper told BFM TV. "It lasted about 10 minutes."

A source at the prosecutor's office said the motive behind the shooting was not immediately clear and that an investigation was under way to see if it was terrorism-related.

The killing took place near Strasbourg's Christmas market, which draws millions of tourists every year, a source at French security forces said on Tuesday.

France remains on high alert after suffering a wave of attacks commissioned or inspired by Islamic State militants in 2015 and 2016, which killed more than 200 people.

The French interior ministry urged the public to stay indoors in the city amid a "serious security event" in the city.

French Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy tweeted: "Solidarity and support for the people of Strasbourg. Our support too for the security forces. We are united and determined to protect the French people."

Reuters

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