Cherif Chekatt (1989-13 December 2018) was a French Islamic State sympathizer who, on 11 December 2018, perpetrated the 2018 Strasbourg attack.
Biography[]
Cherif Chekatt was born in Strasbourg, France in 1989 to a family of Moroccan heritage, and he became a petty criminal, becoming known to security services in France, Germany, and Switzerland for 27 crimes. After his release from prison in France in 2015, he received a prison sentence for theft in Singen, Germany, and he was expelled to France after his release in 2017. Chekatt became a terrorism apologist in prison and eventually became a radical Islamist like his older brother, and he became an Islamic State sympathizer. On 11 December 2018, the police raided his home with the goal of arresting him in connection with a murder, but, on that same day, Chekatt attacked civilians and French Army soldiers at the Christkindelsmarik Christmas market in Strasbourg, killing 3 and injuring 12 in a mass shooting. On the evening of 13 December, he was found in the area between Neudorf and the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg, and he fired upon the officers as they tried to question him, leading to his death in the return fire.