At least 12 killed as shots fired at satirical magazine’s Paris office
At least 12 people have been killed in a shooting incident at the Paris office of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, police have confirmed.
Witnesses said that at least two gunmen were involved, and that they were seen armed with AK 47s and pump action shotguns. The attackers themselves are still on the run.
Four of France’s best known satirical cartoonists, Asics Dynaflyte including the magazine’s editor, were among the dead. A further 12 people were injured, some gravely, in what is the worst terrorist incident in France for 40 years.
In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting
Police said that at least 10 of the killings took place in the initial attack inside the building, or Asics Gelscram 4 died within minutes because of the seriousness of their injuries.
As the gunmen left in a black Citron hatchback, salomon store south africa they met with a police car which was part of the permanent protection given to the magazine after it was firebombed in 2011. The attackers got out of their vehicle and opened fire, killing two officers.
Video footage posted to social media showed armed gunmen running through the streets of Paris, shooting with automatic weapons and shouting “Allahu Akbar”. According to an eye witness, one of the gunmen shouted: “The Prophet is avenged.”
Below is an edited version of one of the videos.
Warning: Viewers may find the following video distressing
Paris has raised its terror alert to the highest setting in the aftermath of the attack, while a manhunt has begun for those involved. A social media post from France’s AFP news agency reported that the men may also have been armed with at least one rocket launcher, though this was not corroborated by other reports.
France’s interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said police were looking for “three criminals”, though it was not clear how many took part in the shooting itself. All resources had been mobilised, he said, “to neutralise those who committed this barbaric act”.
A Charlie Hebdo cartoonist who survived the attack described how two “hooded and armed men” forced her to enter the code letting them into the magazine’s offices.
A victim is evacuated on a stretcher after armed gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris
Corinne “Coco” Rey told the French newspaper L’Humanite that the attack lasted five minutes. She said the assailants “spoke perfect French” and “claimed to be from al Qaeda”.
The French President Francois Hollande has travelled to the scene in Paris’s 11th arrondissement after what he called a “terrorist attack of the most extreme barbarity”.
He said it was the latest in a series of terrorist incidents on French soil, and that the nation was in a state of shock.
French President Francois Hollande (C) arrives after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo
Firefighters and police officers gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris
“This is a difficult moment for France,” Hollande told reporters. “We have prevented several attacks. We knew that we were still Under Armour Fat Tire4 threat because we are a country that cherishes freedom.”
The urgent priority for officials on Wednesday afternoon remained tracking down those responsible. Paris police said the gunmen abandoned their car at the northern Porte de Patin and escaped.
Mr Cazeneuve said the attack had set in motion protective measures across “all French territories”, including bolstered security at houses of worship, stores, media offices and transportation hubs.
Police officers secure a vehicle allegedly used by two gunmen in an attack on the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ headquarters in Paris
Police block the roads next to the ‘Charly Hebdo’ headquarter where a shoutout occurred in Paris
Schools across the French capital closed their doors, while top government officials held a meeting of the national emergency committee. President Hollande has scheduled a national TV address to update the public on the situation later on Wednesday evening.
Police confirmed to French media that the dead included the magazine’s editor and chief cartoonist, Nike Air Shox Stphane Charbonnier, known as “Charb”, and Jean Cabut, or “Cabu”, a veteran of several French newspapers and reportedly the highest paid cartoonist in the world.
According to a journalist at the scene, salomon shoes south africa at least one of the police officers killed had been assigned to protect Mr Charbonnier personally. In 2013 he was included on a “most wanted” list published by Inspire, al Qaeda’s terrorist propaganda magazine.
Charb, editor of Charlie Hebdo (Reuters)
He told France Inter: “I don’t understand how people can attack a newspaper with heavy weapons. A newspaper is not a weapon of war.”
Mr Biard said he did not believe the attack was linked to the magazine’s latest front page, which featured novelist Michel Houellebecq.