Gun attack on Charlie Hebdo, 12 killed 7 injured

[scottish]

Gunmen have attacked the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring seven, French officials say.

At least two masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car.

President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack "of exceptional barbarity".

A major police operation is under way in the Paris area to catch the killers.

The latest tweet on Charlie Hebdo's account was a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs.

The magazine was fire-bombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

People had been "murdered in a cowardly manner", President Hollande told reporters at the scene. "We are threatened because we are a country of liberty," he added, appealing for national unity.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in a tweet: "The murders in Paris are sickening. We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press."

'Black-hooded men'
Two of those killed are police officers, France's AFP news agency reports, and several of the wounded are in a critical condition.

An eyewitness, Benoit Bringer, told French TV channel Itele: "Two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs.

"A few minutes later we heard lots of shots."

The men were then seen fleeing the building.

"It's carnage," French police official Luc Poignant told another French channel, BFMTV.

Police have warned French media to be on alert and pay attention to security following the attack.

The country was already on the alert for Islamist attacks after several incidents just before Christmas.

Cars were driven at shoppers in two cities, Dijon and Nantes, and police were attacked by a man wielding a knife in Tours.

While the French government denied the attacks were linked, it announced plans to further raise security in public spaces, including the deployment of around 300 soldiers.

Thoughts?

Live news coming in via; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-30710777

[Matt]

RIP to those who died

Terrorism is very much real and attacks like this only seem to be increasing. Only a few weeks ago we had the one in Sydney and now this one. I can't imagine what those who witnessed this could be going through. It's incredibly scary, especially when I have family heading to Paris on Sunday. It could really happen to anyone at any time and that's what makes it so scary.

[The Don]

Sickening. People that think it's acceptable to kill over drawings and/or people expressing their opinion have no place in our society.

[lemons]

biggest terrorist attack in europe since the london 7/7 bombings! r.i.p

scenes in paris

[-:Undertaker:-]

RIP to all those involved in the disasterous results of France's 'enrichment' with the RoP. This won't be the last either.

Marine Le Pen may aswell start measuring the curtains in the Elysee Palace at this rate.

[j0rd]

https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak/sta...29196216344576 o

Looks like there's been a new shooting in eastern Paris.
Reports saying the gunman is linked to the shooting that killed a police woman in Paris yesterday

[scottish]

Update - AFP reports at least two people killed after shooting at kosher grocery in eastern #Paris in which at least five were taken hostage

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) January 9, 2015

[Kyle]

Hostages are released and suspect is dead jeez I have been gettin notifications about this all day


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[scottish]

What was the death count at that attack? Still the 2 Sky Tweeted earlier?

[Kyle]

Suspects he both been killed, not sure on the death toll o hostages yet


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