Date: 07/01/2015
Paris Shooting At Charlie Hebdo Magazine Office Leaves At Least 12 Dead
The Huffington Post UK | By Jessica Elgot
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Posted: 07/01/2015 11:19 GMT Updated: 13 minutes ago
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Four of the most well-known cartoonists in France are said to have been killed in the mass shooting attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in central Paris, according to France's leading news agency AFP.
At least 12 people are dead after shots were fired at the headquarters of the magazine, with multiple attackers escaping. Two police officers are believed to be among the dead, with 10 journalists killed.
One of the dead is said to be editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was the magazine's top cartoonist and was placed on the "Al Qaeda kill list", published last year in its magazine Inspire.
One witness told Sky News' reporter on the scene that gunmen had been asking for specific journalists by name. The attack is believed to have been timed to correspond with the magazine's morning news conference, when most journalists would have been in the building.
Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
Three other cartoonists from the magazine are also said to be dead. One of them is Jean Cabut, known as Cabu who drew the cover of the Charlie Hebdo magazine that riffed on the Danish Mohammed cartoons, as well as Verlhac Bernard, better known by the pseudonym Tignous, and Georges Wolinski, whose work had also appeared in Libération and Paris Match.
Charlie Hebdo Attack Footage Captures Suspects Executing Police Officer As They Flee
Luc Poignant, an official of the SBP police union, said the attackers escaped in vehicles heading for the Parisian suburbs, and the Paris mayor's office said the gunmen are still at large.
Police later confirmed they were searching for three gunmen, aided by a fourth driver. An abandoned vehicle was later found by police, with another car hijacked by the gunmen.
Prosecutors and police have confirmed at least 10 more people injured, five critically.
Le Figaro reported that the gunmen used automatic weapons, believed to be AK-47s and were dressed in black, quoting a police source. There were also multiple, but unconfirmed reports of a rocket launcher seen on the scene.
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The offices of the magazine were fire-bombed in 2011 after it published a call-out for the Prophet Mohammed to guest-edit the magazine.
The publication, which lampoons all of the world's religions, was under fire in 2007 for re-printing the Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammad that sparked worldwide protests.
The last tweet from the magazine's Twitter account was a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, wishing him "best wishes, by the way."
Several on the scene have tweeted images of bullet holes through window panes on surrounding streets.
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Today (13:32) GMT
Gunmen abandon one car and hijack another
These new pictures show French police officers and forensic experts examining the car used by armed gunmen who stormed the Paris offices Charlie Hebdo.
A source close to the investigation said a gunman had hijacked a car and knocked over a pedestrian while attempting to speed away.
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Today (13:25) GMT
Grim video circulates online showing police man shot at point-blank range
Graphic footage of two of the suspects believed to be among those who carried out the fatal attack in Paris has emerged.
The video, which Huffington Post UK has chosen not to show, reveals the brutal aftermath of the attack.
The mobile phone footage shows two masked, black-clad gunman leaping out of a car whose back window has been blasted out.
The men rush up to a obviously wounded police officer lying face down on the pavement.
He raises his hand in apparent surrender but one of the gunman aims his weapon and fires, rendering the victim motionless.
Read more here.
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Today (13:23) GMT
Channel 4's Jon Snow calls the attack 'ferociously shocking moment
The Channel 4 news anchor writes his thoughts in a HuffPost blog:
"Make no mistake, this is a landmark moment in the affairs of man. And it is hard in this moment to predict where it will go. But it undoubtedly calls for restraint and for sober assessment of the factors involved."
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Today (13:21) GMT
Four of France's top cartoonists are among the dead - AFP
Four of the most well-known cartoonists in France are said to have been killed in the mass shooting attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in central Paris, according to France's leading news agency AFP.
One of the dead is said to be editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was the magazine's top cartoonist and was placed on the "Al Qaeda kill list", published last year in its magazine Inspire.
Editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb
Three other cartoonists from the magazine are also said to be dead. One of them is Jean Cabut, known as Cabu who drew the cover of the Charlie Hebdo magazine that riffed on the Danish Mohammed cartoons, as well as Verlhac Bernard, better known by the pseudonym Tignous, and Georges Wolinski, whose work had also appeared in Libération and Paris Match.
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Today (12:35) GMT
12 now believed dead, 10 of them journalists
Emmanuel Quemener, from the French police union Alliance, confirmed that there are "twelve dead, ten journalists and two policemen".
"Five people are seriously injured, their life is in danger," he told Liberation. "The gunmen fired at everything they saw."
He would not confirm the presence of a rocket launcher, which several witnesses reported seeing.
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Today (12:28) GMT
More details emerging on the attackers
Paris police have told reporters there were three attackers, with another man driving a getaway car.
“They opened fire on everyone, it was butchery, a real slaughter,” Paris police union spokesman, Rocco Contento told the French paper Liberation.
“Some of the people there took refuge up on the roof. The attackers then emerged, and there was a shootout with police.
"One policeman has been seriously wounded, he may die. Two others are also wounded. The attackers then fled in the direction of the Porte de Pantin after hijacking a car.”
Le Monde has reported that the men spoke French with no accent.
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Today (12:13) GMT
First potential images of the suspect tweeted by Paris journalist
Elise Barthet, a reporter with Le Monde, tweeted a picture of two men in black engaged in what appears to be a shootup with police.
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Today (12:08) GMT
Hollande calls attacks "terrorism"
French President Francois Hollande called the slayings a terrorist attack and said that several other terror attacks have been thwarted "in recent weeks."
"Journalists and police officers, were cowardly murdered," he said, promising that the perpetrators "will be pursued as long as necessary."
France has since raised its threat level up to its highest notch.
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Today (12:04) GMT
David Cameron condemns attack during PMQs
Speaking during prime minister's questions, David Cameron condemned the attack as "barbaric".
"While details are still unclear, this House and this country stands united with the French people in our opposition to all forms of terrorism and we stand squarely for free speech and democracy.
He added: "These people will never be able to take us off those values."
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Today (11:45) GMT
Francois Hollande is on his way to the scene
French President Francois Hollande's office said he was headed to the scene of the shooting at Charlie Hebdo.
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