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Fifth person wounded in Strasbourg shooting dies

A fifth person has died from wounds sustained in the gun attacks last Tuesday on the streets of Strasbourg, eastern France, when local man Cherif Chekatt, 29, who the so-called Islamic State group said acted in its name, shot a total of 16 people.

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A fifth victim has died following the gun attack on the Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg last Tuesday evening, the Paris prosecutor's office has said, reports BBC News.

His brother named him as Barto Pedro Orent-Niedzielski, a 36-year-old Polish-born man.

The suspect in last Tuesday's attack, Cherif Chekatt, was shot dead by police on Thursday.

Four members of his family were released on Saturday and two others close to him were freed on Sunday.

Only one other person remains in detention.

On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered around a makeshift shrine in Strasbourg to honour the victims with readings and songs.

Barto Pedro Orent-Niedzielski died at about 6pm local time on Sunday. He had spent five days in a coma and never recovered.

His family had kept him on life support so that those close to him could come to say goodbye at the Hautepierre hospital in the city.

The other people who lost their lives in the shootings are:

Kamal Naghchband who was a garage mechanic originally from Afghanistan. The father of three had been visiting the market with his family and was shot in the head.

Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, who was a Thai national on holiday with his wife.

Antonio Megalizzi, a 29-year-old Italian journalist, was critically injured in the attack and his death was announced three days later.

A retired bank worker aged 61, from Strasbourg, also died.

Twelve people remain treated for wounds, several in a serious condition.

As a result of two significant eyewitness reports, an extensive police operation involving a helicopter was launched in the Neudorf area - where the suspect was last seen - on Thursday evening.

At about 9pm on Thursday, the suspect was killed in an exchange of fire with police on rue du Lazaret, France's anti-terror prosecutor Rémy Heitz said. He was later identified through his fingerprints.

The officers found an old gun, still loaded, some ammunition and a knife on his body.

Seven people were initially arrested in connection with the attack. Cherif Chekatt's parents and two of his brothers were among those detained, but have since been freed.

Read more of this report from BBC News.