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Foreign nationals among dead and wounded in Strasbourg attack

A Thai tourist was among two people killed and an Italian journalist and a garagist of Afghan origin were reported to be among the 13 others wounded in a shooting spree on the streets of Strasbourg on Tuesday evening when a gunman, apparently acting alone and who witnesses say shouted "god is greater" in Arabic, succeeded in escaping the scene.   

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One of the people killed in the Strasbourg terrorist attack has been named as a Thai tourist who was travelling with his wife, reports The Guardian.

The other person murdered was not immediately named. At least 13 people were injured, with one said to have been left “brain-dead”.

Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, was the owner of a noodle factory in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, and also sold clothes in the Thai capital’s garment district, according to the English-language website of the newspaper Khao Sod.

The newspaper quoted his uncle as saying the couple had originally planned to be in Paris, but the yellow vest protests there caused them to change plans and go to Strasbourg instead. Spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks said Thai officials had asked French authorities and members of the Thai community in Strasbourg to help Anupong’s widow, and Thai consular officials were travelling there on Wednesday to provide further assistance.

A Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman said the country’s embassy in Paris confirmed his death.

Among those injured was an Italian journalist, Antonio Megalizzi, 28, who was in a coma and fighting for his life after being “hit in the head by a bullet” fired by the attacker, his girlfriend’s father, Danilo Moresco, told Italian media.

“The bullet ended up in a very serious position in the skull area, between the nape and the spine,” Moresco said.

Megalizzi, who worked for Europhonica, a consortium of university radio stations, was in the area of the attack with colleagues, Caterina Moser and Clara Stevanato, who managed to escape.

Read more of this report from The Guardian.