Strasbourg gunman cried 'Allahu Akbar': Prosecutor

The gunman who carried out a mass shooting in Strasbourg cried "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest") as he opened fire, France's anti-terror prosecutor Remy Heitz said Wednesday, adding the attack was being investigated as a terrorist incident.

The gunman was still on the run, but four people connected to him were detained overnight in the eastern French city, Heitz told a news conference.

The shooting is being investigated by the anti-terrorist section of the Paris prosecutor's office because of "the place targeted, the way the attack was carried out, the gunman's profile" and reports of his shouting Allahu Akhbar, the prosecutor added.

The gunman has been sentenced 27 times in France, Germany and Switzerland for crimes including violence and robbery, Heitz said.

He was flagged by security forces in 2015 as a possible extremist while in prison.

Two people were killed, another was declared brain-dead, and 12 others were wounded, six very seriously, Heitz said.