As reported earlier today [6], Paris was the latest city to succumb to a rogue shooter when a gunman shot a photographer at left-leaning French newspaper Liberation, following by a shooting near the headquarters of French bank SocGen.
The lone gunman is shown on the picture below.
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How the Paris situation differs from numerous such incidents taking place recently in the US, however, is that so far the gunman has not been captured or otherwise "incapacitated." Furthermore, as was reported subsequently, the Paris prosecutors are now treating the shooting as a "terrorist" case. And now, as the WSJ reports [8], Paris in now gripped in a manhunt for the gunman who is currently on the loose.
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From the WSJ [8]:
A manhunt was under way in central Paris Monday for a lone gunman who police suspect of two separate shootings and a brief hostage taking, in a series of events that Paris prosecutors are treating as a terrorist case, a spokeswoman said.
It was unclear what motivated the attacks—which sparked confusion across the French Capital—or what the possible thread was linking them, police said. The spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office didn't provide any additional details. Paris Prosecutor François Molins is scheduled to hold a news conference later Monday.
In the first incident, a man opened fire Monday morning at the Paris headquarters of left-leaning newspaper Libération, leaving a 27-year old assistant photographer badly wounded. Shortly afterward, a gunman appeared outside the headquarters of French bank Société Générale SA in the business district of La Defense, a bank spokeswoman said. The man fired shots but there were no injuries or casualties at the bank.
The assailant then fled the business district, taking one man hostage and forcing him to drive to the Champs Élysées in central Paris before liberating him, a police officer said. A police helicopter was circling the famous Paris thoroughfare as officials seek to identify and capture the man.
Police are acting on the hypothesis that the same man is behind all events, police officials said. The police officer said the same bullets were used in both incidents on Monday morning. Witnesses said in both cases the shooter was wearing a dark coat, police said.
Many businesses in the areas where the man was sighted were tightening security.
That said, the most important component of the New Normal, confidence, has been preserved:
Laurent Nunez, chief of staff for the Paris police head, said officials had no insights on the gunman's motivations. He said police were conducting checks across Paris to try to capture him, including in the metro, the extensive underground transportation system that blankets the city.
"Very honestly, nobody has alerted to any sense of panic in the city," said Mr. Nunez.
A spokeswoman for the RATP, which operates the metro, said traffic was moving normally. She said the company had not received any instructions from police to tighten security.
And some more confirmation that no matter what, Paris just refuses to panic:
A gunman next appeared in front of Société Générale's skyscraper headquarters, located in western Paris.
"The man looked very calm and determined," said Pierre-Albert Garcias, a community manager at the bank who witnessed the shooting. Mr. Garcias told French television all people present in the hallway immediately took shelter, fearing that the shooter would take aim at them, but that there were no scenes of widespread panic.
Truly admirable. Who would have though that none other than the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would become the normative directive of the New Normal. And now, if only the NSA could step in and help out the staunch socialist friend of the US by putting an end to this latest "terrorist" act, everything can go back to normal.
