A fifth person has died of their injuries after Tuesday’s Christmas market attack in Strasbourg, French prosecutors have confirmed.
An official from the Paris prosecutor’s office said the victim was a Polish national, but gave no other details. An Italian journalist, a Thai tourist, an Afghan mechanic and a French national were also killed in the shooting.
The suspected attacker, Chérif Chekatt, was killed by police on Thursday night following a two-day manhunt for the 29-year-old by 700 French security forces.
On Saturday, four relatives of the gunman were released from custody due to “lack of incriminating evidence”, but three people people close to Chekatt are still being held.
The French government has dismissed a claim by the Islamic State (Isis) group that it was responsible for the deadly shooting at the Christmas market, but Chekatt’s father told French media on Saturday that his son had become an Isis follower.
Authorities have been focusing their investigation on the gunman’s potential support network and are working to clarify why he was not stopped before he could act.
Chekatt was well known to police, having served jailed time in France, Germany and Switzerland.
