Massacre as gunmen attack French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo killing 12
The French satire publication was targeted by gunmen who stormed the magazine's Paris office killing at least a dozen staff.
17:04 07 January 2015
Gunmen have attacked the office of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing at least a dozen staff members and wounding seven more, officials have confirmed. Two of the dead were police officers.
Two masked attackers armed with assault rifles began shooting in the office. They then exchanged gunshots with the responding police upon their exit before escaping by car.
Eyewitness Benoit Bringer described the scene to French TV channel Itele: "Two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs.
"A few minutes later we heard lots of shots."
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French President Francois Hollande described the assault as an act of terrorism and "exceptional barbarity".
UK Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "The murders in Paris are sickening. We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press."
The magazine was previously firebombed in November 2011 after publishing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.
The latest tweet on Charlie Hebdo's Twitter account was a cartoon spoofing the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Some have speculated that the attack was in response to the magazine's depiction of Muslims and Islam but as yet no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility or issued a motive.
