Massive Manhunt Underway In Paris For Gunmen Who Killed 12 At Charlie Hebdo

The above image was obtained by AFP from a French police source, the BBC said.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said there appears to be only one shooter in Thursday's attack in southern Paris, contradicting earlier reports. From AFP:

"The gunman is still on the run, said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve -- who rushed to the scene at Malakoff just south of the city -- contradicting information given earlier by a source close to the case, who said the suspect had been detained."

Cazeneuve said it is only the policewoman who is fighting for her life.

Police said two people are in a critical condition: a policewoman and a city employee, AFP reported.

They were fired on with an automatic rifle. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has rushed to the scene of the shooting near Porte de Chatillon.

Valls said authorities had released photos of the two suspects in hopes witnesses would come forward and that preventing another attack "is our main concern." Valls also said there had been several detentions overnight during the manhunt.

Mourad, 18, turned himself in Wednesday night at a police station in northern France. Authorities said Mourad is a French Muslim of North African descent, and the news magazine Le Point reported that he was unemployed.

Le Point also said police had identified the suspects after one of them left his identification papers in the getaway vehicle.

The oldest of the two brothers, Cherif Kouachi, 34, has been under the watch of authorities since he was arrested in 2005 in connection to a case related to a jihadi preacher.

Jihadi preacher Farid Benyettou recruited Cherif, who was 22 at the time, and he was later detained by French authorities as he prepared to fly to Syria on his way to Iraq, the Times reported.

At trial in 2008, Cherif said he had dreamed of attacking Jewish targets in France, but had been convinced by Benyettou that fighting the U.S. in Iraq was a better outlet for his jihad intentions.

His trial lawyer, Vincent Ollivier, said Cherif described himself as an "occasional Muslim," enjoying rap music and smoking marijuana in his free time.

Libération, a French newspaper, said Cherif's parents were Algerian immigrants, but that he was raised in foster care in western France.

Cherif trained as a fitness instructor, before moving to Paris, where he lived in the home of a Islam convert with his brother Said. He held several low-paying jobs in Paris, including pizza delivery and fishmonger.

Le Monde reported that 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, who turned himself in to police, has not been charged with a crime. He is a relative of the brothers, the report said.

The 18-year-old turned himself in to police in northeast France, Reuters reported.

An official at the Paris prosecutor's office said Hamyd Mourad surrendered at a police station in Charleville-Mézières at around midnight local time.

According to a report from BFMTV, the teen decided to go to police after seeing his name circulated in social media.

Le Monde is reporting that no arrests have taken place, citing police sources.

"Many rumors are circulating about the supposed detention of suspects in Reims," the newspaper reported. "These are false reports. Police sources contacted by Le Monde say that no arrests have taken place at this time."

NBC News walks back report one suspect is dead and two others are in custody.

NBC News has walked back its report that French police had apprehended two of the three suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shooting, and that the third suspect had been killed.

In a follow-up, NBC News reporter Pete Williams wrote that "[a]fter a long day of rapidly changing information, US counterterrorism officials said Wednesday night that they cannot be certain what the status is of the three suspects in the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine."

Williams added that the unnamed U.S. officials cited in his earlier report "later said the information that was the basis of that account could not be confirmed."

NBC News later said in a statement the erroneous report came from two U.S. officials.

"NBC News issued an earlier report based on intelligence from two consistently reliable U.S. counterterrorism officials in different government agencies," a spokesperson said. "As soon as it became evident that our sources doubted their information, we immediately updated our reporting across all platforms and continue to do so as this fast-moving story unfolds."

Here are the earlier tweets from NBC:

Charles-Henry Boudet, a journalist with France 3, has been posting from Reims, where an anti-terrorism raid is reportedly underway.

French police are conducting searches in Charleville, near the border with Germany.

French police are conducting searches in Charleville, a small city in north-eastern France that is the reported hometown of Hamyd Mourad, the youngest suspect, Le Monde reported.

Searches are also being conducted in Paris' 19th arrondissement, the newspaper reported.

The names of the three suspects, who remain at large, have been leaked.

Two unnamed French officials have identified the suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shooting as Said Kouachi, Cherif Kouachi, and Hamyd Mourad, the Associated Press reported.

The two Kouachis are both French nationals in their early thirties, the AP reported. The two Frenchmen are brothers, ABC News reported.

The third suspect, Mouran, is 18 years old, the AP reported. His nationality was not immediately clear.

One of the officials told the AP that the suspects are connected to a terror network in Yemen. Cherif Kouachi was sentenced to a year and a half in prison in 2008, after he was charged with providing assistance to fighters trying to join the Iraqi insurgency, the AP reported.

Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN that no arrests have been made in connection to the shooting, contrary to previous media reports.

Over 3,000 French police officers and soldiers are now searching for the three terror suspects.

The French Ministry of the Interior said that 16 squadrons of riot control forces and national police have been deployed around Paris and it surrounding town, Le Monde reported.

At least 350 soldiers and other defense personnel are expected to join the search on Thursday morning, the newspaper added.

Police appear to be closing in on the three suspects, according to media reports:

The three suspects in the shooting of the Charlie Hebdo shooting have been identified, Le Monde reported, but French authorities have not released their names.

Police searched at least three apartments in Pantin, Gennevilliers, and Champigny-sur-Marne, lower-income suburbs just outside the Paris city limits, Le Parisien reported.

The third suspect is reportedly from Reims, according to Reuters.

The pope expresses firm condemnation for the attempt in the office of the weekly satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" that cost the lives of twelve people. As said in a statement by father Federico Lombardi, director of the press room of the Holy See.

The Holy Father expresses the firmest condemnation for the attack that marred this morning in the city of Paris with a high number of victims, sowing death, throwing into dismay the entirety of French society, deeply upsetting all people who love peace, far outside the confines of France.

The Pope is praying for those suffering and hurt and for the families of the dead and exhorts everyone to oppose by any means efforts to spread hate and any form of violence, physical and moral, that destroys human life, violates human dignity, radically undermines the fundamental good of peaceful coexistence between individuals and peoples, nonwithstanding differences of nationality, religion and culture.

Whatever the motivation, homicidal violence is abominable, it is never justifiable, the life and dignity of everyone is guaranteed and protected with determination, any incitement of hate should be rejected, respect for the other should be cultivated.

The pope expresses his closeness to, his spiritual solidarity and his support for everyone who, based on their different responsibilities, continue to work diligently for peace, justice and the law, for healing the deep wounds and causes of hate, in this hurtful and dramatic moment in France and every part of the world marked by tension and violence.

Profiles of some of the victims — including the four cartoonists and Bernard Maris and Michel Renaud — can be found here.

Hollande condemned the attackers as cowards and called on French citizens to unite to fight against the extremists.

"Our own best weapon is our unity," he said. He later added: "We must unite against this and we will win."

French President François Hollande has declared Thursday to be a day of mourning in the country after the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

Hollande said that the nation would observe a moment of silence Thursday and flags would be lowered at government buildings for the next couple of days.

Former director of Charlie Hebdo says he “lost all my friends.”

Philippe Val, former director of Charlie Hebdo, spoke about the newspaper and his former colleagues in an interview on the France Inter radio station.

"They were so lively, they cared so much about bringing joy to people, about making them laugh," he said. "They cared so much about giving people generous thoughts. They were such good people. They were the best among us, obviously, like all people who make others laugh, like all people who are for freedom."

He went on to call Cabu "a genius, a genius of goodness," and stated that terror cannot freedom of expression.

"We can't let the silence settle … We need to gather against this terror. Terror cannot destroy the joy to live," he said.

Some Outlets Are Censoring Charlie Hebdo’s Satirical Cartoons After Attack

Here are Obama's full remarks:

I've reached out to President Hollande of France and hope to have the opportunity to talk to him today. But I thought it was appropriate for me to express my deepest sympathies to the people of Paris and the people of France for the terrible terrorist attack that took place earlier today.

I think that all of us recognize that France is one of our oldest allies, our strongest allies. They have been with us at every moment when we've -- from 9/11 on, in dealing with some of the terrorist organizations around the world that threaten us. For us to see the kind of cowardly evil attacks that took place today I think reinforces once again why it's so important for us to stand in solidarity with them, just as they stand in solidarity with us.

The fact that this was an attack on journalists, attack on our free press, also underscores the degree to which these terrorists fear freedom -- of speech and freedom of the press. But the one thing that I'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the French people, a belief -- a universal belief in the freedom of expression, is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence of the few.

And so our counterterrorism cooperation with France is excellent. We will provide them with every bit of assistance that we can going forward. I think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of attacks can happen anywhere in the world. And one of the things I'll be discussing with Secretary Kerry today is to make sure that we remain vigilant not just with respect to Americans living in Paris, but Americans living in Europe and in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and making sure that we stay vigilant in trying to protect them -- and to hunt down and bring the perpetrators of this specific act to justice, and to roll up the networks that help to advance these kinds of plots.

In the end, though, the most important thing I want to say is that our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who've been lost in France, and with the people of Paris and the people of France. What that beautiful city represents -- the culture and the civilization that is so central to our imaginations -- that's going to endure. And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they'll be forgotten. And we will stand with the people of France through this very, very difficult time.

Thank you very much, everybody.

President Obama in a press briefing reinforced the U.S.’s commitment to the people of France, calling the massacre an “attack on our freedom.”

The president noted that France is one of the U.S.'s oldest allies, saying that "they have been with us at every moment from 9/11 on."

"For us to see the kind of cowardly, evil attacks that happened today reinforces that we need to stand in solidarity with them as they have stood in solidarity with us," he said.

Paris Prosecutor François Molins said in a press briefing that authorities believe at least two gunmen were involved in the attack that killed 12 and injured 11, four seriously.

Molins confirmed previous reports that witnesses said the attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" and the "Prophet has been avenged" as they gunned down their victims in the editing suite of the newspaper.

Molins said after the attack, the suspects headed out onto a public road and encountered police three separate times.

The suspects exchanged gunfire with the police and some were injured. In the third confrontation, the gunmen shot one of the officers "to the ground."

The suspects then crashed their car into another vehicle, he said. They abandoned their vehicle, reported to be a black Citroen.

Molins also issued a public plea for any witnesses of the attack to come forward to help with the investigation.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out about the attack in a joint press appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Everyone should combine to condemn this act," he said.

French prosecutor: 12 dead and 11 wounded, with four in serious condition, in the attack

French national police, riot control forces, and military are deployed in Paris as the manhunt for the gunmen continues.

More than 500 riot control forces and national police, as well as scores of local cops, have been deployed across Paris, where the gunmen remain at large, Le Monde reported.

Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, has declared a crisis state in the country and ceded control of operations to Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.

Cazanueve, whose ministry is in charge of the Gendarmerie, the French national police force, will coordinate efforts to locate the three suspects in the shooting at Charlie Hebdo.

"The entirety of our local and national police services have been mobilized," the statement from the ministry of the interior read. "Surveillance has been increased in train stations, tourist attractions, places of worship, and newsrooms. Riot Control Forces, the military, and the national police have all been deployed alongside local forces."

Salman Rushdie Issues Statement Against Terrorist Attack In Paris

"Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms."

A History of Charlie Hebdo — The French Newspaper That Isn’t Afraid To Offend

Founded in 1969, Charlie Hebdo has paid a heavy price for its championing of the freedom to mock any group.

Bernard Maris, known as “Uncle Bernard” to readers of Charlie Hebdo, was killed in the attack.

Maris, 68, was a famous left-wing economist who wrote about finance and economics and was the magazine's deputy editor. He was from Toulouse, a southwestern region of France, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Toulouse. He was also the author of L'Enfant qui voulait etre muet ("The Boy Who Wanted to Be Silent").

"I am heartbroken to have lost a friend made of respect, erudition and kindness," Eric Le Boucher wrote for Slate France. "By killing him, his murderers wanted to kill respect, erudition, and kindness."

From the New York City Police Department:

New York City has the most sophisticated counterterrorism capability in the U.S. There are standing contingency plans in place to adjust police deployments based on any unfolding situation in the world. That includes how we use and where we position and deploy specialized police resources. The NYPD has a Detective stationed in Paris who has been coordinating with NYPD and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.

John J. Miller NYPD Deputy Commissioner Intelligence and Counterterrorism

20 Heartbreaking Cartoons From Artists Responding To The Charlie Hebdo Shooting

Here's an update:

Security forces have launched a massive manhunt in search for the three gunman suspected in the attack, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said according to the Associated Press.

CNN reported that the country has mobilized every force at its disposal including its military. Local law enforcement have been instructed to be on high alert.

Meanwhile, police have impounded a black Citroen that resembles a getaway vehicle used by the gunmen in the shooting, CNN reported.

Video from CNN's affiliate in Paris shows the car being taken from an area in the northeastern section of the city.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the attack “horrific” and “murderous” in a press conference, saying that the extremists who perpetuated the attack will not succeed in suppressing free speech.

"The freedom of expression that [Charlie Hebdo] represented is not able to be killed by this act of terror, on the contrary it will never be eradicated by an act of terror," Kerry said.

Kerry added that "no country knows better than France that freedom has a price," since France was the birthplace of democracy. He said the U.S. stands with France in "solidarity" in defense of freedom.

#JeSuisCharlie Trends As Social Media Users Express Solidarity In Wake Of Attack On Charlie Hebdo

Obits: Remembering The Four French Charlie Hebdo Cartoonists

Here’s What We Know About The Gunmen Behind The Charlie Hebdo Attack

These details from AP:

The staff was in an editorial meeting and the gunmen headed straight for the paper's editor, Stephane Charbonnier — widely known by his pen name Charb — killing him and his police bodyguard, said Christophe Crepin, a police union spokesman on the scene. Minutes later, two men strolled out to a black car waiting below, calmly firing on a police officer, with one gunman shooting him in the head as he writhed on the ground.

Ten journalists were killed and two police, Crepin said, one of them assigned as Charb's bodyguard and another who had arrived on the scene on a mountain bike.

"Hey! We avenged the Prophet Muhammed! We killed Charlie Hebdo," one of the men shouted, according to a video filmed from a nearby building and broadcast on French television. Other video images showed two gunmen in black at a crossroads who appeared to fire down one of the streets. A cry of "Allahu akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great" — could be heard among the gunshots.

From the U.S. Embassy in Paris:

Despite misleading press reports, there are no plans to close or limit access to the U.S. Embassy in Paris or other diplomatic facilities in France. We are open for business as usual.

In 2012, the White House questioned the judgment of publishing a cartoon featuring the Prophet Muhammad, but stood by "freedom of expression."

The masked gunmen shouted "Allahu akbar!" when storming the offices, the AP reported. They escaped in a getaway car, and then switched to another, the agency said.

This is France's deadliest terror attack in at least two decades, the AP reported.

PARIS (AP) — France's top security official confirms three gunmen carried out deadly attack on French paper.

Statement from former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reported in Le Monde:

This attack is a national tragedy. This is a direct, savage attack on one of our most cherished republican principles: freedom of expression.

Our democracy has been attacked. We must defend it without any weakness. Absolute resoluteness is the only possible response.

Our nation is in mourning, struck in the heart, the Republic must gather assemble together. I call on all French people to reject the temptation of stereotyping.

Statement from U.S. President Barack Obama:

I strongly condemn the horrific shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris that has reportedly killed 12 people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this terrorist attack and the people of France at this difficult time. France is America's oldest ally, and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against terrorists who threaten our shared security and the world.

Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended. France, and the great city of Paris where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers. We are in touch with French officials and I have directed my administration to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice.

Translation:

"The Front National and [far-right political coalition] the Rassemblement Bleu Marine are horrified at the revolting attack committed in the middle of Paris, at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters.

"They express their sadness for the victims, and would like to offer their condolences to the families of the victims."

From BuzzFeed News' Anais Bordages, who is on the scene:

Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, who is considered the spokesperson of the French Muslim community, said: "I want to denounce the horror and the unspeakable and show our compassion. We condemn what just [happened] in the name of all Muslims. This is an act of war in the middle of Paris. "

Cartoonist Coco, who works for Charlie Hebdo, witnessed the attack, according to Le Figaro, citing l'Humanité:

I was out to get my daughter from kindergarden, when I got to the door of the paper's building, two armed and hooded men brutally threatened us. They wanted to get in and get up. I typed the code. They shot Wolinski, Cabu (the cartoonists who died in the attack...). It lasted for five minutes... I had taken refuge under a desk... they spoke French perfectly... they claimed they were from al-Qaeda.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released this statement:

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today's attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. French media reported that hooded gunmen stormed the magazine's offices, killing at least 12 people and critically wounding at least five. Journalists and police officers were believed to be among the casualties. The gunmen fled.

"This is a brazen assault on free expression in the heart of Europe," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "The scale of the violence is appalling. Journalists must now stand together to send the message that such murderous attempts to silence us will not stand."

The magazine was firebombed in 2011 after it ran a spoof edition on Islam.

According to Le Monde, which quoted a police source, Le Figaro, Le Point, and other French news outlets, famous cartoonists Cabu, Charb, Tignous, and Wolinski are dead.

Stephane Charbonnie, or Charb, 47, was the editorial director of Charlie Hebdo. Jean Cabut, or Cabu, 76, was a French cartoonist who worked for Charlie Hebdo and Le Canard Enchainé. Georges Wolinski, 80, also worked for Charlie. Bernard Verlhac, known as Tignous, was 57.

BuzzFeed News has not confirmed reports of the deaths.

PARIS (AP) — Prosecutor says 12 dead in attack on French satirical newspaper; gunmen still at large.

Here is what we know now:

Gunmen attacked the Paris office of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, Agence France-Presse reported. Two of those killed were police officers.

Witnesses told the French television network iTele that multiple masked men with automatic weapons were at the newspaper's office. The attackers shouted, "We have avenged the prophet," police said, according to AFP.

President François Hollande said this was undoubtedly a terrorist attack "of exceptional barbarity." The president also said a number of terror attacks have been prevented "in recent weeks."

People have been "murdered in a cowardly manner," Hollande told reporters at the scene. "We are threatened because we are a country of liberty."

France reinforced security at houses of worship, stores, and media and transportation offices as the county raised its alert to the highest level. According to the Associated Press, government officials are conducting an emergency meeting.

Libération spoke to Emmanuel Quemener, the head of police union Alliance in Paris:

He is on the scene. He said: "There are probably 12 deaths, 10 journalists and two policemen. Five people are severely injured, with life-threatening injuries. The shooters shot on everything they saw. When they exited, they saw policemen in an official police car and they opened fire again."

A magazine employee told France TV that the shooting happened during the weekly edit meeting, at which all the journalists are present.

Translation: "Relatives of victims are getting to the scene. A woman screams and falls on the ground. Another cries."

Four people are in critical condition, Hollande said.

Hollande tweet: "No act of barbarism will ever extinguish freedom of the press. We are a united country that will react and stand together."

In 2012, the magazine put an image of the Prophet Muhammed on the cover.

Speaking in Der Spiegel at the time, Charlie Hebdo's Editor-in-Chief Stephane Charbonnier, or Charb, defended publishing the image by saying "a drawing has never killed anyone."

The magazine was forced to move premises in 2011 after its offices were firebombed shortly after publishing an issue with the title "Charia Hebdo," a reference to Islamic Sharia, although no one claimed responsibility for the arson at the time.

That issue of the magazine was "guest edited" by the Prophet Muhammed, following an Islamist party's victory in Tunisia's general elections, the New York Times reported.

The most recent tweet from the magazine's Twitter account was a cartoon of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi giving a New Year's greeting of "Good health." It was posted just minutes before the attack.

From the Associated Press:

A police union official in Paris says one journalist is dead and three officers have been wounded in a shooting at a French satirical newspaper Luc Poignant, an official of the SBP police union, said the attackers escaped in two vehicles.

A witness to the attack Wednesday, Benoit Bringer, told the iTele network, that he saw multiple masked men armed with automatic weapons at the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in central Paris.