( Reuters )PARIS—The Champs-Elysees gunman who shot and killed a police officer just days before France’s presidential election was detained in February for threatening police but then freed, two officials told The Associated Press on Friday. The French government pulled out all the stops to protect Sunday’s vote as the attack deepened France’s political divide. Police shot and killed Cheurfi after he opened fire on a police van on Paris’ most famous boulevard. The focus of the French presidential campaign shifts to security and immigration after the shooting of a policeman by a gunman just days ahead of the first round of polls. A search warrant has been issued for a person flagged up to French police by the Belgian security services, according to French Interior Ministry Spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

Source: thestar April 21, 2017 12:11 UTC