At the flower shop "Au Nom de la rose" on Rue du 22 Novembre many people pass by carelessly on other days - today this is almost impossible. The sidewalk in front of the narrow shop in Strasbourg is strewn with white, red and pink rose petals, candles are burning in front of the entrance.

A gesture of mourning, which also registered Aurélie, who comes a few meters further from a bakery. That the assassin could strike here, scares many people: "In the middle of the center," says Aurélie. Then she shakes her head, "But if we are honest, we all knew that in the face of terror, there is nowhere absolute security." (Follow the current events here in the news blog.)

In fact, Strasbourg has tried many things not to become an attack target. Since the beginning of 2015 there have been countless attacks in France, 240 people died. Since then, in Strasbourg, as in all major French cities, there are security precautions that Germans find unfamiliar and severe. For years, for example, you can only get through a security check to the lockers at the station.

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France: fatal shots in Strasbourg

The Rue du Maire Kuss, the shortest route to the cathedral and the city center, could only be passed in the past few months after meticulous bag control - a few hundred meters away, Chérif C. struck on Tuesday. Also today bags and bags are checked again. At the Saverne Bridge, a man resignedly opens his briefcase and sighs: "If only that would help."

The vibrant metropolis , quiet and silent

On this day after the assassination Strasbourg, on other days a seething, pulsating metropolis, quiet and silent. There is hardly a sound to be heard at the major intersections, most people in the metros look out of the window, lost in thought. Hardly anyone speaks, nobody laughs. In the city center, where C. on Rue des Orfèvres, Place Gutenberg and the Corbeau Bridge shot people, the police cordoned off all the entrances to the cathedral - the Christmas market, which houses hundreds of thousands of tourists at the foot of the world-famous monument year after year lures, remains closed today.

Mayor Roland Ries has already proclaimed a day of mourning in the morning, all demonstrations were banned, 350 police officers should be able to devote themselves exclusively to the search for the alleged assassin, in central places such as the main station patrolled additional military. Also all cultural events were canceled for the day.

"I understand that very well," says an elderly lady in a bright winter coat. "It's reassuring to know that the police are here." Neither she nor her husband could have slept last night. After learning what had happened outside her front door, she had not ventured outside for two hours. Later, when it became clear that the offender was no longer in the city center, they realized that just in front of their house, at the entrance to the underground car park, one of the victims had lain. "We are all very sad, and the worst thing to know is that the killer is still not ready."

Hunt for C. so far unsuccessful

Although the police know a lot about the suspect C. and he is classified as a threat in France, the 29-year-old is still on the run. So far, the security forces apparently only two brothers of the alleged assassin arrested.

C. is said to have recently lived in Neuhof, a neighborhood that is called a "sensitive neighborhood" in France: a high-rise housing estate, where more than 30 percent of its inhabitants are unemployed - twice the Strasbourg average. Drugs, crime, religious radicalization are the attributes that connect many Strasbourg citizens with the district. "Quartier haut-les-mains" ("hands-high-quarter") say old-established Strasbourg sometimes, today nobody says that. It would sound too casual.

But the impression that many have of the neighborhood is likely to be reinforced after Tuesday's events - despite all the investments that the city and the countryside have made since 2005 to improve infrastructure and attract middle-class families to the area. Today, especially many camera crews are here.

During the night, three special units - the elite unit "RAID", the search and intervention brigade "BRI" - and the anti-terrorist group "Sentinelle" had been hunting for C. The federal police are looking for the 29-year-olds. But so far the search has been unsuccessful.

She hopes it will only be hours before the assassin gets caught, says Aurélie: "The sooner the better." It's a phrase that you hear again and again on Wednesday.