Terrorists attack French newspaper that satirized Islam

Terrorists today attacked the office of a French newspaper known for publishing cartoons that mocked and criticized the Prophet Muhammad. Around noon local time, gunmen stormed the Paris office of the publication Charlie Hebdo with shouts of “Allahu akbar!” and killed 12 people, including the editor and a cartoonist.

The attackers escaped in a getaway car. Authorities are hunting for the three gunman, and France has raised its terror alert to the highest level, ratcheting up security and closing schools for protection.

The terror group ISIS, based in Iraq and Syria, has repeatedly threatened to attack France, though no group has yet taken responsibility for the attack. French President Francois Hollande said the government has thwarted several other attacks in recent weeks. France’s allies, including the United States, expressed sympathy and support after the shooting.

“We know they are not going to be cowed by this terrible act,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The Charlie Hebdo offices were firebombed in 2011 after the weekly satirical newspaper planned to publish a spoof issue with a drawing of Muhammad on the cover. In the aftermath of that attack, Stephane Charbonnier, the editor killed in today’s attack, called the attackers “stupid people who don’t know what Islam is,” and “idiots who betray their own religion.”

Charlie Hebdo continued its criticism of radical Islam as ISIS rose to power. Just before today’s attack, the paper tweeted a cartoon that showed ISIS’s leader reading a newspaper with the headline “Still no attacks in France.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.