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Two or three masked men stormed the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January 2015, at about 11 a.m. CET (UTC +1). Early reports suggest that 12 people were killed and 10 injured. The gunmen entered the building and began shooting with automatic weapons—reports indicate up to 50 shots being fired.

Background

Charlie Hebdo (Template:IPA-fr; French for Charlie Weekly) is a French satirical weekly newspaper, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics and jokes. Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication is strongly antireligious and left-wing, publishing articles on the extreme right, Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, politics, culture, etc.

It first appeared from 1969 to 1981; it folded, but was resurrected in 1992. Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier had been the editor since 2012 until his death in this shooting.

The publication had courted controversy before. The cover of a 2011 issue, dubbed "Charia Hebdo", depicted a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammed, prompting the newspaper's office in the 20th arrondissement to be fire-bombed and its website hacked. The following year, the newspaper published a series of satirical cartoons of Muhammad, including nude caricatures; this came days after a series of attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East, purportedly in response to the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims, prompting the French government closed embassies, consulates, cultural centers, and international schools in about 20 Muslim countries. Riot police surrounded the newspaper's offices to protect against possible attacks.

Event

On 7 January 2015, at least two gunmen opened fire at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, killing at least 12 and seriously wounding at least 5. Two of the dead were police officers, one of whom appeared to be attempting to surrender after being wounded and was then executed with a gunshot to the head. The gunmen, who were armed with AK type rifles, shotguns, and a rocket-propelled grenade, are reported to have shouted "we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" as they attacked.

As of 2 p.m. CET (UTC +1), the gunmen are still at large. The incident was France's deadliest attack since the Algerian War in 1961 and the worst attack in peacetime.

Victims

Twelve victims have died: ten killed inside Charlie Hebdo headquarters and two police officers killed outside.

The cartoonists Cabu, fr [Charb], fr [Tignous] and Georges Wolinski have died.

Reaction

The attack has been condemned by François Hollande, Angela Merkel, Jean-Claude Juncker and Matteo Renzi, as well as others around the world such as David Cameron, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin and a spokesman for the White House.

References

1. Andrew Marszal (7 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo shooting: 'several terror attacks' foiled in recent weeks, says Francois Hollande". The Telegraph.
2. "En DIRECT Attaque à Charlie Hebdo : "C'est un attentat terroriste", dit François Hollande". lesechos.fr (in French). 7 January 2015.
3. ^ "Charlie Hebdo shooting: twelve dead at Paris offices of satirical magazine – live updates". The Guardian. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
4. "Gun attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo kills 11". BBC News. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
5. ^ "Charlie Hebdo attack – latest". BBC News. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
6. Charb. "Non, "Charlie Hebdo" n'est pas raciste !". Le Monde. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
7. "BBC News: Attack on French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo (November 2, 2011)". Bbc.co.uk. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
8. Boxel, James (2 November 2011). "Firebomb attack on satirical French magazine". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
9. "Charlie Hebdo publie des caricatures de Mahomet". BMFTV Template:Fr icon Retrieved 19 September 2012.
10. ^ Vinocur, Nicholas (19 September 2012). "Magazine's nude Mohammad cartoons prompt France to shut embassies, schools in 20 countries". Reuters. The National Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
11. Samuel, Henry (19 September 2012). "France to close schools and embassies fearing Mohammed cartoon reaction". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
12. Khazan, Olga (19 September 2012). "Charlie Hebdo cartoons spark debate over free speech and Islamophobia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
13. Keller, Greg; Hinnant, Lori (19 September 2012). "Charlie Charlie Hebdo Mohammed Cartoons: France Ups Embassy Security After Prophet Cartoons". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. "Terrorists shoot officer in Paris during terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo". LiveLeak. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
15. "Deadly attack on office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo". BBC News. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
16. "12 dead in Paris newspaper attack: prosecutors". MSN News. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
17. "Paris on Terrorism Alert After 11 Killed in Magazine Attack". Bloomberg. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
18. "EN DIRECT. Massacre chez "Charlie Hebdo" : 12 morts, dont Charb et Cabu". Le Point.fr (in French).
19. "Les dessinateurs Charb et Cabu seraient morts". L'Essentiel (in French). France: L'Essentiel. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
20. http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Modi-Condemns-Deplorable-Paris-Attack/876109
21. "​В Кремле решительно осудили теракт в Париже" (in Russian). RT. 7 January 2015. {{cite web}}: zero width space character in |title= at position 1 (help)

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