Police are on the hunt Monday for a gunman in Paris who fired at a newspaper office and in a financial district miles away and then forced a driver to bring him to the landmark Avenue des Champs-Élysées in the city center.
The gunman, believed to be a shaven-haired man whose image was caught on video-surveillance, fired shots with a hunting rifle or similar weapon at the office of the left-of-center French newspaper Libération Monday morning, seriously injuring a photographer’s assistant.
About 90 minutes later he opened fire outside a suburban business district in front of the headquarters of the Societe Generale bank, injuring no one, authorities say. He then reportedly hijacked a car and forced the driver to take him into the crowded city center.
President François Hollande said from an official visit abroad that “all means” would be deployed to catch the assailant, Reuters reports. A police helicopter hovered over the Champs-Élysées to assist in the search. Police say the suspect appears to be the same armed man who entered the offices of the BFM channel Friday and threatened journalists before leaving.
[Reuters]