Paris was at its highest terrorism alert Wednesday after terrorist shootings at the offices of French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo.
At least 12 people were killed in what French President Francois Hollande called “an act of exceptional barbarity” against the press. Four more people are in critical condition and an additional 20 were injured, police said.
“France is in a state of shock after this terrorist attack,” said Hollande, who expected to speak at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern). “An act of exceptional barbarity has been perpetrated against a newspaper, against liberty of expression, against journalists.”
He also added that several possible terrorist attacks have been foiled in recent weeks.
A massive manhunt is underway to search for the three gunman, who escaped by car after the attack, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, adding they will use any means necessary to bring the them down. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has also declared a crisis state in the country and ceded control of operations to Cazeneuve, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.
In a statement, President Obama said his administration would “help bring these terrorists to justice”.
Speaking from a cybersecurity conference in New York City, FBI Director James Comey said they are working with their partners in Paris to investigate, according to CNN.
Most of those shot were part of the magazine’s newsroom, said Matthieu Lamarre, a spokesman for the Paris mayor’s office. Though the identities of those killed have not been revealed, police union spokesman Christophe Crepin said the gunmen headed straight for the paper’s editor, Stéphane “Charb” Charbonnier, who was in an editorial meeting with staff — killing him and his police bodyguard first before continuing.
Charbonnier once defended the right of Muslims to protest when the French government planned to block a series of protests by Muslims.
Three hooded attackers entered the offices by making one of the staff members arriving at the office open the door with a security code, according to the Associated Press. Moments later, after the attack, they are seen on video calmly leaving the scene.
In a clip from iTELE, the men are heard shouting in French, “We have killed Charlie Hebdo. We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad,” according to Reuters.
The cover of Charlie Hebdo this week is on Submission, a book by Michel Houellebecq released Wednesday, which depicts France in 2022, led by the imaginary “Muslim Fraternity” party and a Muslim president who bans women from the workplace and advocates for polygamy, among other things.
Charlie Hebdo’s offices were also attacked by firebomb in November 2011 after a special edition was published with the Prophet Mohammed as a guest editor — though no one was injured.
Author Salman Rushdie, who had a fatwa issued against him by Iran in 1989 for his book, The Satanic Verses, made a strong statement against the attacks: “Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms.”
In a joint press appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said, “Everyone should combine to condemn this attack.”
“Freedom of the press is at the heart of all free societies,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on Facebook. “From Ottawa to Jerusalem to Sydney to Paris we need to band together to defend the values that make us great.”
A crowd of thousands has been growing at the Palace de la République to show solidarity with the victims.
