French police have killed the main suspect in the Strasbourg Christmas market shooting, Cherif Chekat, following a dramatic, helicopter-assisted police raid in a city-center district, the country’s Interior Minister confirmed.

The French police mounted a massive operation in Strasbourg on Thursday, involving armed officers from the elite RAID police unit and the helicopter.

The suspect, earlier identified as 29-year-old Cherif Chekat, was first to shoot at the officers and was killed by return fire, a source said.

Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, has confirmed that Chekat was “neutralized” in the raid.

Photos have surfaced on social media allegedly showing Chekat’s body. They depict a man with a gunshot wound to the head lying on the pavement with a gun next to him.

There were also videos of Strasbourg residents giving a standing ovation to the law enforcers over the successful operation.

Tuesday’s attack at a popular Christmas market left three people dead and a dozen wounded. Chekat was shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire at the unsuspecting shoppers.

The perpetrator was injured in the arm during a shootout with the police, but managed to hijack a taxi and flee the scene, triggering a manhunt.

Chekat had a huge criminal record, being convicted 27 times for various offenses committed in France, Germany, and Switzerland. He was shadowed by DGSI, France’s homeland security agency, for harboring extremist views.

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