Christmas market shooting kills 4, injures 11 in France's Strasbourg

Four people have been killed and 11 critically wounded in a shooting on Tuesday in the French city of Strasbourg, two French police union officials said, updating the number of victims. According to the security forces, the suspect was wounded, but is still at large.

One of the officials, Stephane Morisse from the FGP Police union, told The Associated Press authorities went to the alleged assailant's residence earlier Tuesday to arrest him but the 29-year-old suspected of ties to radicalism wasn't there. Morisse says police found explosive materials at the home.

Police said they were investigating a possible terrorism motive for the shooting. A special anti-terrorism prosecutor was assessing the situation.

Local authorities in the Grand-Est and Bas-Rhin region tweeted for the public to "avoid the area of the police station," which is close to the city's Christmas market.

France's Interior Ministry has also warned the residents of the city of Strasbourg to stay indoors after the incident.

"A serious public safety incident is taking place in Strasbourg," the ministry wrote on Twitter. "Residents are asked to stay home. More information to follow, follow the instructions of authorities."

The situation in France has been tense lately, with yellow vests protests spreading across the country and beyond.

The interior ministry said 136,000 people had taken part nationwide in last Saturday's protests, which turned violent in several other cities including Marseille and Toulouse.

In Paris, around 10,000 "yellow vests" flocked to the Champs-Elysees and other areas — 2,000 more than joined the action last week — as many headed in from other provinces for the first time.

Nationwide, more than 1,700 people were detained, over 1,000 of them in Paris, as police vowed "zero tolerance" for anarchists, far-right supporters and others seeking to cause trouble.