An image from the scene of tonight's shooting. Source: Roberto Pasini/Ropi/PA

TWO PEOPLE HAVE been killed and 12 others have been injured after a gunman opened fire in the French city of Strasbourg.

The suspect is still at large and is currently being hunted by police who have cordoned off the area.

French officers exchanged gunfire with the suspected gunman who had been wounded by soldiers at the edge of the Christmas market where the shooting took place, police said.

The soldiers had been patrolling the area as part of regular anti-terror operations.

The gunman has been identified and was on a watchlist of suspected extremists, a statement from local security services said.

Shortly after the shooting, lines of police vehicles and ambulances streamed into the market area, under festive lights declaring the city the “capital of Christmas.”

The shooting took place at about 8pm local-time, with the city’s European Parliament also put on lockdown.

As of 11.15pm, police said that two people were killed in the shooting and that six others were seriously injured:

At around 8pm, an armed individual entered the perimeter of the Christmas market by the Corbeau bridge, heading towards the Rue des Orfèvres. The individual opened fire, injuring several people. The provisional toll records 14 victims including two dead, six seriously injured and six minor injuries.

“The perpetrator is identified and is actively sought. People residing in the district of Neudorf and the park are asked to remain indoors,” police added.

Soldiers stand guard in the centre of Strasbourg. Source: Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

Two separate security sources told AFP that the shooter was believed to be a 29-year-old from the city who was set to be arrested this morning.

He was being investigated over an attempted murder, one of the sources said.

A police source, again speaking on condition of anonymity, said that security forces had opened fire in an area of the city where the suspect was thought to be hiding.

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Specialised anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation into the incident in Strasbourg, which lies on the border of Germany.

The Christmas market in Strasbourg is an annual tourist attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of people.

Security has been stepped up in recent years after a series of attacks in France in recent years.

The office of France’s anti-terror prosecutor has said that it is assessing the Strasbourg shooting.

“We heard several shots, three perhaps, and we saw people running,” one witness said after the incident, asking not to be named.

“One of them fell down, I don’t know whether it was because she was tripped up or if she was hit.”

With reporting by © – AFP 2018