Shooting at Charlie Hebdo - JeSuisCharlie

France today has been hit by a terriorist attack. Three armed masked me entered the offices of Charlie Hebdo - a satire publication - and killed 12 people, many who were cartoonist. The attack was apparently in retaliation over cartoons published of the prophet Mohamed since they yelled that "the prophet has been avenged."  The cartoon mocked the sacred figure in Islam which prohibits the founder from being caricaturized.  The gunmen have been identified as Cherif Kouachi, 32, and his brother Said Kouachi, 34.  They were identified after one left his ID card behind at the scene.

On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social networks, the hashtags #JeSuisCharlie, #ParisShooting and others have been trending all day long.  Thousands of people in France took to the streets and public squares to show support for Charlie Hebdo.  Many of them simply held pens as a symbol of journalism and drawing.  Others held images of the slain cartoonists and the words "JeSuisCharlie."

The publication Charlie Hebdo is known for mocking religion and even atheists. From the Pope to Mohamed, no one seemed untouchable to them.  They were often drawn in vulgar ways.  The offices of Charlie Hebdo have been hit before by a fire bomb a couple of years ago. One of the cartoonists, Stephane Charbonnier was also on the list of Al-Qaida.

Some news reports claim that the third suspect surrendered and is 18 years old. The French police have no confirmed this.  I will update this post as I learn more.

Let us pray for France.

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/hunt-2-french-shooting-killed-040725179.html

http://news.yahoo.com/slain-editor-of-french-newspaper-had-been-on--hit-list--of-al-qaida-s-yemeni-affiliate-013104032.html

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/paris-shooting-charlie-hebdo-office-attacked-slideshow/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/07/europe/france-satire-magazine-gunfire/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/08/europe/charlie-hebdo-paris-shooting/index.html