Charlie Hebdo shooting

On January 7, 2015, at around 11:30 CET (10:30 UTC), three masked gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles, a shotgun, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher stormed the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

Background

Charlie Hebdo is an anti-religious left-wing newspaper. In 2011, the newspaper's office was firebombed because the cover of an issue of the newspaper called "Charia Hebdo" had a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad on it. The newspaper's editor-in-chief Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier was added to Al-Qaeda's most wanted list in 2013.

Events

They shot and killed 12 people, including  Charlie Hebdo staff and two French National police officers, and wounded 11 others. In Niger, churches and cars were burned in protest of Muhammed on the cover of Charlie Hebdo. 






The gunmen entered the building and began shooting with automatic weapons, while shouting "Allahu Akbar". Up to 50 shots were fired during the attack. Following a massive manhunt, the French police believe they have located the attackers and are mounting an operation against them. On Twitter, users showed support for freedom of speech with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie.

Aftermath

Victims

 Cabu, 76, cartoonist
 Tignous, 57, cartoonist
 Philippe Honoré, 73, cartoonist
 Georges Wolinski, 80, cartoonist
 Charb, 47, caricaturist and journalist
 Bernard Maris, 68, economist and journalist
 Elsa Cayat, 54, psychoanalyst and columnist

Perpetrators

Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi were identified by French police as the main suspects in the shooting. The two Franco-Algerian brothers, both from Gennevilliers, are aged 34 and 32, respectively. 

In 2008, Chérif Kouachi was convicted of terrorism charges and sentenced to three years in prison, along with 18 months of suspension, for having assisted in sending fighters to Iraq's insurgency. 

Hamyd Mourad, an 18-year-old homeless man of unknown nationality, was identified by the police as a third suspect in the shooting.

Related pages

 2025 Pahalgam Massacre
 April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack
 2025 D.C. Jewish museum shooting

References

Category:2010s in Paris
Category:2015 in France
Category:Assassinations
Category:Murder in Paris
Category:Islamic terrorism
Category:January 2015 events
Category:Massacres in Europe
Category:Mass murder in 2015
Category:Mass murder in France
Category:2010s crimes in France
Category:2015 murders in Europe
Category:Terrorist incidents in Paris
Category:Murders by firearm in France
Category:2015 mass shootings in Europe
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2015
Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in France
Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2015