Zee Media Bureau
Paris: A manhunt was launched on Monday to nab a gunman who shot at the office of French newspaper, Liberation, seriously injuring a 27-year-old photographer.
The victim was shot in the chest and stomach with a pump-action shotgun and was in a critical condition, police and the newspaper said.
French media reports that the unidentified gunman is probably the same man who broke into the Paris offices of the 24-hour news channel BFMTV on Friday.
The Liberation newspaper said images of the suspect corresponded with those of the attacker at BFMTV.
In that incident, the gunman emptied several cartridges from his shotgun before warning a senior editor: "Next time, I will not miss you."
Reports suggest that after opening fire on Monday, the armed man forced a motorist to drive to the Champs Elysees before he letting him go.
BBC reports that the suspect is between 40 and 45 years old, shaven-headed and overweight.
The shooter fled the scene and was still at large several hours after the attack, which occurred around 10:15am local time (1445 IST).
Just over an hour later, witnesses described shots being fired — also from a pump-action shotgun — outside the headquarters of Societe Generale bank in the La Defense business district.
Police helicopters were circulating over the French capital`s most famous avenue, apparently looking for the gunman.
A police security cordon had been erected around Liberation`s editorial offices in central Paris.
The newspaper said the injured man worked as an assistant to one of the photographers for its Next supplement.
