12 people were killed today at a French newspaper known for their anti-Islamic views in Paris.
Masked gunmen stormed the Charlie Hebdo headquarters building during an editorial staff meeting, just after their latest publication.
The Daily Mail reported that the gunmen opened fire on staff and called out the names of journalists while doing so.
A police source told AFP, 2 men opened fire and killed those who were in the meeting. It has been widely reported that the gunmen fired round after round, killing the editor-in-chief and four cartoonists among what would be a total of at least 12 victims.
On their way out they (the gunmen) shot a police officer at point blank range in the head.
According to the Daily Mail, there were reports of up to 12 people dead and 10 wounded, four critically, including journalists, administrative staff, and police officers who attended the scene.
President Francois Hollande described the bloodbath as a ‘barbaric attack against France and against journalists’ and vowed to hunt down those responsible.
Watch the video below from Sky News that shows footage of the attackers and listen to how they gained access to the building:
Twitter reacted accordingly, with many leaders and twitter users expressing messages of support:
The murders in Paris are sickening. We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) January 7, 2015
The Queen of England also sent out a message of support to the people of France:
The Queen has sent this message to @fhollande and the people of France following the attack in #Paris today pic.twitter.com/ohqvDEQhTj
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 7, 2015
The Telegraph tweeted pictures of some of those who were killed:
The cartoonists who were killed in the attack on #CharlieHebdo https://t.co/jdO7PafN1m pic.twitter.com/kcBxITrzoK
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 7, 2015
Click here to view the Telegraph’s compilation of tweets about the attack.
What are you thoughts on the attack?