Gunmen Kill At Least 12 In ‘Terrorist Attack’ At French Satirical Newspaper

Paris police say gunmen attacked the office of a French satirical newspaper in Paris on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving at least as many more injured.

CBS News’ Elaine Cobbe reports that, according to witnesses, two armed and masked men walked into the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and opened fire in the entrance hallway, killing people as they saw them.

French President Francois Hollande appeared at the scene of the shooting quickly and confirmed that the hunt for the suspects was ongoing. He said the level of terror alert for the French capital had been raised. At least two of those killed were reportedly police officers.

Paris prosecutor’s spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre confirmed 12 people were killed.

Calling the incident a “terrorist attack,” Hollande said “we must show we are a united country,” and vowed to respond with “firmness.”

Without further explanation, Hollande said “several” attacks had been averted over recent weeks, and added that France was a target for extremists “because we’re a country committed to liberty.”

Cobbe reported that, according to at least one witness, one of the gunman was heard asking for people by name.

The suspects managed to escape the scene and were being pursued by police into Paris suburbs.

Benoit Bringer, a journalist with Agence Premiere Ligne who saw the attack, told the iTele network he saw several masked men armed with machine guns. He said two officers arrived on bicycles, then — apparently unarmed — they left.

A reporter for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper in Paris told Sky News that the first officers to arrive fled after seeing two or three gunmen armed with automatic weapons and possibly a grenade launcher.

Chilling video initially posted to a Facebook account shows two gunmen open fire on police in a small black car, and then shows them executing one officer as he lays on the sidewalk by shooting him at close range. The masked gunmen are then seen in the video getting into the black car and driving off. The Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” can be heard shouted in video of the attack.