This is such a sad news to begin the new year with. According to CNN, at least 12 people, 10 Charlie Hebdo staffs and two police officers have been killed as unknown gunmen entered the offices of the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” this morning and opened fire. Some of the staffs of the magazine company killed include the editor and celebrated cartoonists. It was also confirmed that five others are currently seriously wounded.
The Guardian further reported that the attackers who fled the scene of the attack and later hijacked a car have not yet been caught. French President François Hollande was reported to have said the country is still in a state of shock following what he considers a terrorist attack. The gunmen that attacked Charlie Hebdo offices will be “chased as long as necessary,” said France’s President.
Charlie Hebdo magazine has been a subject of controversies in the past and had even been violently attacked following its publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Its offices had been firebombed in 2011 and they had also received recent threats.
In a statement reported via AFP, the United States said it condemned Wednesday’s deadly shooting attack on a French newspaper in the “strongest possible terms”.
“Everybody here at the White House are with the families of those who were killed or injured in this attack,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, while speaking on MSNBC. “Senior officials at the White House have been in close touch with their counterparts in France this morning,” he further stated. “The United States stand ready to work closely with the French” to help them probe the attack.