Police have surrounded a supermarket in Paris, as the BBC’s Stephen Sackur reports.
A gunman has seized hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris as police in northern France have cornered the two Charlie Hebdo massacre suspects.
A police officer told the BBC that two people were killed after a gunman believed to be the killer of a policewoman in Montrouge entered the supermarket near Porte de Vincennes.
Source: BBC News – BBC News: Charlie Hebdo hunt: Double hostage crisis in France
French authorities have arrested seven people in connection with the terrorist attack on a French satirical newspaper Wednesday.
The two gunman, however, are still at large.
Two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi are believed to be the gunman who shot and killed 12 people inside the French publication Charlie Hebdo. Cherif has a criminal record of serving 18 months in prison for criminal association with a terrorist organization in 2005. He was part of an Islamist cell that called for French citizens to go to Iraq to fight Americans.
The man who drove the getaway car surrendered to authorities Wednesday night. Hamyd Mourad, 18, is reportedly working with authorities to identify anyone who helped in the planning of the attack.
Authorities say that seven people connected to the brothers are under arrest. They have not said what charges will be brought against them.
French president Francois Hollande has called for a national day of mourning.
“Nothing can divide us, nothing should separate us,” Hollande said in a statement. “Freedom will always be stronger than barbarity. France has always known how to defeat its enemies when it has known how to defend its values. Let us be united and we shall triumph.”
Twelve people are confirmed dead and several more are injured after three gunmen stormed the Paris office of a French satirical magazine known as Charlie Hebdo.
Witnesses reported seeing the masked gunmen enter the main entrance and open fire. Afterward, the gunmen took to the streets, killing police officers, and finally getting away in a black car.
French officials have labeled the attack as “an act of terrorism” and are raising the terror threat level. Security has been increased for media organizations, large stores, and places of worship.
“We will find the people who did this,” French President Francois Hollande stated. “France is today shocked by this terrorist attack.”
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have shown their support for France by offering to provide assistance in catching the terrorists.
According to law enforcement, two police officers and four of the publication’s cartoonists are among the dead.
Three Arabic men who shouted anti-Semitic slurs attacked a Jewish scholar teaching in Paris.
The reports from Paris police say the three men grabbed the victim and threw him against a wall. The victim was then beaten in the face until his nose was broken and deformed. They also broke bones around his eyes.
They then threw the victim to the ground, ripped his clothing and drew a swastika on his chest.
During the attack, then men shouted “death to the Jews” and repeatedly called the victim a “dirty Jew” before punching him.
The attackers ran when the victim’s cries drew attention of people in the area.
French officials have reported a significant rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the last few weeks.
A 21-year-old man has been arrested in the stabbing of a French soldier in Paris over the weekend and officials say he has admitted to the terror attack.
Officials said the man, identified as “Alexandre”, was a recent convert to Islam who sought to kill “a representative of the state” according to Prosecutor Francois Molins. Continue reading
