Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
At least a dozen people are dead after gunmen stormed the offices of French satirical magazine 'Charlie Hebdo' Wednesday. The country's president is calling the attack an act of terror. VPC
People gather in solidarity of the victims of a terror attack against a satirical newspaper, in Paris, on Jan. 7, 2015.(Photo: Thibault Camus, AP)
PARIS — Authorities identified three suspects in a deadly shooting attack on a satirical newspaper that killed 12 people Wednesday as thousands jammed a public square for an evening vigil honoring victims of France's deadliest terror attack in half a century.
Two of those killed were police officers, authorities said. Eight journalists were among the victims.
A Paris police official, speaking to Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, named the suspects as Said Kouachi, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32, both French nationals, and Hamyd Mourad, 18, whose nationality wasn't immediately clear. There were no confirmed arrests.
French news media reported Wednesday night that a major police operation was underway outside an apartment building in Reims, about 90 miles northeast of Paris, and that police believe one or more of the attackers may be inside the building. Another police raid believed to be connected to the massive manhunt was underway in the town of Reims, France24 reported.
The brothers were born in Paris of Algerian descent, police said. Cherif, police said, was sentenced to three years in prison on terrorism charges in May 2008. Both brothers returned from Syria this summer.
At least 15,000 gathered at the Place de la République for a vigil after the three gunmen, wearing hoods and armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles, stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo shouting Islamic phrases and killing 12 people. The publication is a satirical newspaper that has caricatured the prophet Mohammed in the past.
"They wanted to put France down on its knees but we will show them solidarity and unity," Ilan Scialom, 30, vice president of "COEXISTER," an interfaith group in Paris that promotes tolerance, said at the Paris rally. Thousands turned out for similar vigils in Lyon and elsewhere across Europe. Some held signs saying, "Not afraid."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the midday attack.
Eight journalists, a guest and two police officers were killed, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, giving a partial breakdown of the dead. Among those killed were Bernard Maris, an economist who was a contributor to the newspaper and was heard regularly on French radio, and cartoonists Georges Wolinski and Berbard Verlhac, better known as Tignous.
President Francois Hollande called it a terrorist act "of exceptional barbarism," and said that other attacks have been thwarted in France in recent weeks. Fears have been running high in France and elsewhere in Europe that jihadis returning from conflicts in Syria and Iraq will stage attacks at home.
In a brief televised address, Hollande called for a day of mourning Thursday.
"We will win. Nothing will make us renounce our determination," he said. "Long live the republic. Long live France."
Cherif Kouachi was well known to French law enforcement. Then 26, he was sentenced to three years in prison with 18 months suspended for criminal association with a terrorist enterprise for his 2008 conviction as part of a group of seven men.
Prosecutors said the group recruited French Muslims to fight for al Qaeda in Iraq. The group, known as the 19th Arrondissement Network for the working class Paris district where it was based, allegedly recruited young men, arranged for weapons training and helped them travel though Syria to Iraq. Police arrested Kouachi in January 2005, days before they allegedly planned to travel to Syria.
Cherif Kouachi had left school and was delivering pizzas when he was recruited into a jihadi group by Farid Benyettou, a street preacher who prowled Paris' east-side neighborhoods, and was also convicted on terror charges.
The rampage began around noon when the suspects killed a receptionist to gain entrance to the offices in central Paris, then opened fire on a second-floor editorial meeting, killing 10 people, including eight journalists, Molins said. The officers were killed during the suspects' getaway, he said.
Eleven others others were injured, including four who were listed in serious condition.
USA TODAY
Cartoonists, police among terror attack dead
Molins said the attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") and the "prophet is avenged" before fleeing in a stolen black Citroen, exchanging gunfire at least twice with police outside.
Cartoonist Corine Rey, also known as "Coco," told the weekly Humanité that she was forced at gunpoint to allow the men inside the building.
"They shot (cartoonists) Wolinski, Cabu … it lasted about five minutes," she told the newspaper, according to France24. "I took cover under a desk … they spoke perfect French … they said they were al-Qaeda."
Stephane Charbonnier.(Photo: Michel Euler, AP)
The dead included Stephane Charbonnier, the weekly newspaper's editorial director known as Charb, spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre of the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed. Charb's bodyguard — assigned to him after previous death threats — was among those killed, said Christophe Crepin, a police union spokesman. Four cartoonists whose work included controversial drawings of the prophet Mohammed were also killed.
In response to the death threats, Charb, according to France24, told colleagues at one point, "I am not afraid of retaliation. I have no kids, no wife, no car, no credit. It perhaps sounds a bit pompous, but I prefer to die standing than living on my knees."
USA TODAY
'Charlie Hebdo' satirical journalism drew fans, critics
One police officer was shot execution-style on a sidewalk. The gunman, in a chilling video taken from a second-floor balcony, opened fire on a police officer, who collapsed. One of the gunmen then calmly walked up to the officer and killed him, before returning to the getaway car with his fellow assailant.
Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris on Wednesday.(Photo: Anne Gelbard, AFP/Getty Images)
The newspaper's editor, Gerard Biard, escaped the attack because he was in London.
"I am shocked that people can have attacked a newspaper in France, a secular republic," he told France Inter: "I don't understand it."
Only hours before the attack, the newspaper published a new cartoon on Twitter that appears to show Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The militant group has captured large parts of Iraq and Syria.
The publication, whose barbs are aimed at a wide range of religious and political institutions, has been heavily criticized by Muslims for years. In 2011 its offices were firebombed after a spoof issue featured a caricature of the prophet on its cover.
Another cartoon, released in this week's issue and entitled "Still No Attacks in France," had a caricature of an extremist fighter saying "Just wait — we have until the end of January to present our New Year's wishes."
"Stars of journalism have been murdered this morning, it is major attack on the freedom of the press, in the heart of Paris, a brutal attack, killing journalists while they were working in their newsroom," said Luc Hermann, producer and executive director of Premiere Ligne, a press agency in the same building as Charlie Hebdo. None of Premiere Ligne's production staff were injured in the attack, Hermann said.
USA TODAY
Timeline: Terror attacks in Europe over the years
Eric Meguira, owner of a lighting shop across the street from where the police officer was killed on the sidewalk, said they heard noises and thought someone was playing with firecrackers.
"We saw the car (of the attackers) leave at high speed then we saw a policeman shoot in its direction," he said.
France raised its security alert to the highest level and reinforced security at houses of worship, stores, media offices and transportation sites.
Hollande promised the assailants — thought to be armed with a rocket-launcher in addition to the automatic rifles — would be brought to justice.
In Paris, as word of the killings spread, crowds began gathering for an impromptu show of support at the Place de la République.
USA TODAY
Muslims express outrage over Paris terror attack
By evening, Parisians huddled under the arm of the statue of the Glory of the Republic of France, clapped and chanted "Charlie" and "Liberté." Many held signs that read, "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie"), while other held up pens to symbolize the freedom of the press.
"I'm under shock I think like all French journalists. I came here because I wanted to express my solidarity with Charlie and show my support for freedom of expression," said Sarah Halifa-Legrand, a reporter attending the vigil.
"There are so many people, everywhere in the square, some have climbed up on the statue, people have lit up little candles, it's very touching, there's not so much noise, it's quiet, people are mourning, it's very moving."
USA TODAY
#JeSuisCharlie messages flood social media after attack
USA TODAY's David Colton, Rem Rieder and Brian Gallagher discus the ramifications for the media following the attack on Charlie Hebdo the satirical weekly in Paris known for publishing controversial material. (USA NEWS, USA TODAY)
In Washington, President Obama strongly condemned the "horrific shooting" and said the U.S. was in touch with French officials "to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice."
USA TODAY
Obama condemns Paris shooting, offers U.S. help
Secretary of State John Kerry condemned what he called a "murderous attack" and said that "each and every American" stood beside France.
Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the terrorist attack on French satirical magazine 'Charlie Hebdo' that left at least a dozen people dead. VPC
"Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental values in France, and what was attacked today could not eradicate that freedom," Kerry said.
The U.S. Embassy in France also changed its Twitter photo to "Je Suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") in a show of support.
A gun assault on the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was the deadliest terrorist attack in France's recent history. (News, USA TODAY)
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the World Editors Forum strongly condemned the assault.
"An attack of this nature strikes at the heart of the very freedoms that the press in France so passionately defends," WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne said in a statement. "It is not just an attack against the press, but also an attack on the fabric of our society and the values for which we all stand."
Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger in Washington, D.C.,Doug Stanglin, in McLean, VA., Jabeen Bhatti in Berlin, Kim Hjelmgaard in London; Associated Press. Welch reported from Los Angeles
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed