INTERVIEW – JONATHAN SCHANZER –  a former terrorism-finance analyst for the US Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president at Foundation for Defense of Democracies.  @Jschanzer

• Deadly shooting near Christmas market in Strasbourg, France
• 3 dead, 12 injured with suspect at large after shooting near Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. A suspect on a terrorist watch list was being hunted Wednesday after three people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a shooting near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg. Police had raided the suspect’s home hours before Tuesday’s attack as part of a burglary probe. Cultural sites and sports centers were closed on Wednesday as 350 police officers were deployed in the manhunt. The shooting took place shortly before 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) near a Christmas market that attracts millions of tourists every year. Strasbourg considers itself the “capital of Christmas.” The suspect fled the scene and exchanged shots with police between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. He said the suspect has a criminal record in France and Germany. A prosecutor had earlier said that officers were searching for the suspect in connection with alleged criminal association with a terrorist group and attempted assassination. Authorities believe a handgun was used in the attack. Of the at least 12 wounded, six have serious injuries, police said.
• 5 held in Strasbourg Christmas market attack, gunman remains at large. France was on high alert Wednesday as hundreds of security forces took part in a manhunt for a gunman who killed at least two people and wounded a dozen more at a Christmas market in eastern France. French authorities had previously said that three people were killed, but prosecutor Remy Heitz said Wednesday that two people were dead and a third was brain dead. The attack happened in Strasbourg, which is home to the European Union’s Parliament, around 8 p.m. local time Tuesday. A terrorism investigation has been opened, but a motive for the attack remains unclear and no group has claimed responsibility. French police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt. He is thought to be from Strasbourg and radicalized while serving time in prison for several robbery cases. Heitz, the prosecutor, said witnesses heard the suspect shout “God is great” in Arabic during the attack. He said the assailant, who attacked the victims with a handgun and a knife, was shot in the arm during a gunfight with soldiers before fleeing in a taxi to another part of the city. He remains at large