A gunman shot dead a policeman and wounded two more on Thursday before security forces on the Champs-Elysees shot him dead. Meanwhile, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting as France is just days ahead of a presidential election. A gunman targeted yesterday one of Paris' busiest boulevards in a deadly attack. Le Figaro reported that a man stepped from a car and opened fire on a police van with an automatic rifle outside a store on the Champs-Elysees about 9pm on Thursday. A policeman was killed and two more were wounded before security forces from the area shot the gunman to death. Isis claimed responsibility over the attack on its propaganda agency Amaq calling the attacker «Belgian». #ChampsElysees #Amaq attribue attaque à 1 #belge(activement recherché) Mais 1 #français identifié! Y-a-t-il 1 autre tueur #EI ds la nature?? pic.twitter.com/Dm7AnNP7k8 — frederic Helbert (@FredericHelbert) 21 avril 2017 Meanwhile, the first investigations revealed a completely different identity for the gunman. Police were searching Thursday night a house in eastern Paris suburb of Chelles, believed to be the attacker's home family. A suspect with a criminal record Francois Molins Paris' prosecutor told Reuters that : «The identity of the attacker is known and has been checked. I will not give it because investigations with raids are ongoing». On the other hand, a source that has been close to the investigation claimed the gunman is called Karim C., a 39-year-old man who has been previously suspected of planning a terrorist attack that targets killing Police officers. #Champselysées #tueur identifié c étant Karim C. français, 39 ans, fiché S, déjà condamné pr triple tentative assassinats #policiers 2001 pic.twitter.com/NeqnJR11n5 — frederic Helbert (@FredericHelbert) 21 avril 2017 Investigation suggests that the gunman served 15 years in prison after being convicted of three attempted murders, two against policemen in 2001. In 2003, he has been sentenced to 20 years of prison. The attack came only three days before the presidential vote which has created a wave of terror in France. Meanwhile the 11 candidates were having their quasidebate on television.
