Twelve dead in shooting at satirical paper in Paris, police say

Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015, during an attack on the offices of the newspaper which left twelve dead, according to sources close to the investigation.  -  AFP
Masked gunmen stormed the offices of a French satirical newspaper Wednesday, killing 12 people before escaping, police and a witness said. The weekly has previously drawn condemnation from the Muslim community.
Xavier Castaing, head of communications for the Paris police prefecture, confirmed the deaths in the shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly that has been repeatedly threatened for publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), among other controversial sketches.
French President Francois Hollande was headed to the scene, and top government officials planned an emergency meeting.
Luc Poignant, an official of the SBP police union, said the attackers escaped in two vehicles.
A witness to the attack, Benoit Bringer, told the iTele network he saw multiple masked men armed with automatic weapons at the newspaper’s office in central Paris.