Mass shooting at French magazine

At least 11 people have been killed when armed gunmen armed opened fire in the Charlie Hebdo Paris office.

Shooting ... Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

• Police say 12 dead, five critically injured in attack at Paris magazine office
• Gunmen on the loose after shooting at staff and police
• President Hollande said attack is "terrorist act"
• Charlie Hebdo was firebombed in 2011 for publishing a cartoon about Prophet Mohammed

AT LEAST 12 people have been killed and five critically injured when gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs and a rocket-launcher opened fire at a French magazine.

Police said three masked gunmen stormed Charlie Hebdo's Paris headquarters about 11.30am Wednesday local time shouting "we have avenged the Prophet" before opening fire.

French media reports the gunmen went straight to the second floor of the magazine, the location of the editorial department, and started asking people who they were before shooting.

Terrified staff scattered, with some seeking refuge on the roof.

The gunmen then fled in a getaway car.

They are still on the loose and a massive manhunt is underway, as French President Francois Hollande described the murders as an "undoubtedly terrorist act."

SATIRICAL MAGAZINE: The history of Charlie Hebdo

An injured person is treated by nursing staff outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office, in Paris. Picture: Thibault Camus Source: AP

Armed ... Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Picture: AFP Source: News Corp Australia

Scene ... two of the gunmen who opened fire at French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Picture: Live Leak Source Source: News Corp Australia

Rocco Contento, spokesman for the Unite police union, said the attackers exchanged gunfire with the building's security team and police before driving away in a getaway car driven by another man. They drove to Porte de Pantin in northeast Paris.

They then abandoned the first car and hijacked a second, kicking the driver out of the vehicle.

"They opened fire on everyone, it was butchery, a real slaughter," Mr Conteno has told the daily Libération.

"Some of the people there took refuge up on the roof. The attackers then emerged, and there was a shootout with police."

Mr Contento added that the Charlie Hebdo offices had increased its security in recent weeks following renewed threats against the magazine.

Charlie Hebdo has drawn repeated threats for its caricatures and was firebombed in 2011 ago in response to a satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Witness Corinne Rey told L'Humanite she was forced to let the attackers into the building, and they claimed to be from al-Qaeda.

"I had gone to pick up my daughter from daycare. Arriving at the door of the newspaper building, two hooded and armed men brutally threatened us," she said.

"They wanted to enter, go up. I typed the code. They shot Wolinski, Cabu ... it lasted five minutes ... I had taken refuge under a desk ... They spoke French perfectly ... claiming to be al-Qaeda."

One of the gunmen reportedly said to a witness: "You say to the media, it was al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Witness Benoit Bringer told the iTele network he saw multiple masked men armed with automatic weapons atCharlie Hebdo.

Australian journalist Amanda Morrow, who lives near the Charlie Hebdo offices, told News Corp Australia that even two hours after the attack, emergency vehicles were still streaming to the site.

Ms Morrow, who has worked for Radio France International for six years and, incidentally, due to give birth today, said she was not surprised by the attack.

"If you live anywhere near Charlie Hebdo, which has continually printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, you know that it is always going to be a target," she said. "Paris is no stranger to these sorts of attacks, there has been a lot of animosity between Jews and Muslims."

French soldiers patrol the Eiffel Tower in Paris as the capital was placed under the highest alert status. Picture: Joel Saget Source: AFP

Investigation ... French police and forensic experts examine the car used by armed gunmen who stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo. Picture: AFP/Getty Images Source: AFP

Damage ... a police car riddled with bullets. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Charlie Hebdo's front page on the day of the shooting

Charlie Hebdo frequently satirises Islam and Muslim extremists.

The cover of Wednesday's paper — the day of the shooting — featured a caricature of Michel Houellebecq, a novelist whose sixth novel, Submission, predicts a future France run by Muslims, in which women forsake Western dress and polygamy is introduced.

On the cover, Mr Houellebecq is depicted as a wizard and smoking a cigarette, saying: "In 2022, I will do Ramadan."

The last tweet on Charlie Hebdo's Twitter profile page @Charlie_Hebdo_, sent about an hour before the shootings, included a satirical cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In it he wishes everyone "good health".

It has not been confirmed if Charlie Hebdo's latest cover image or tweet were the cause of the shooting.

Victims

Of those killed, two were police officers and 10 were magazine staff.

French media have named five of the victims: controversial cartoonist and editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as "Charb"; cartoonists Cabu, Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac; and economist and writer Bernard Maris.

Charbonnier, 47, faced constant threats over the controversial publication, and once famously said: "I'd prefer to die standing than live on my knees."

He appeared in a 2013 Wanted Dead or Alive for Crimes Against Islam article published by Inspire, the terrorist propaganda magazine published by al-Qaeda.

The magazine's editor-in-chief, Gerard Biard, was in London at the time of the attack.

It has been reported the gunmen asked for the cartoonists by name before killing them.

Thousands of tributes to the cartoonists have appeared online.

Victims ... Charlie Hebdo staff killed in the attack include (clockwise from top left) cartoonist Jean Cabut, aka Cabu, cartoonist Tignous, Georges Wolinski and publisher Charb. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Killled ... writer Bernard Maris was murdered in the attack. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Staff ... members of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo pictured in 2006, including cartoonists Cabu (L), Charb (2nd L), Tignous (4th L) and Honore (5th L) posing in front of the then headquarters of the weekly in Paris. Picture: Joel Saget Source: AFP

Massive manhunt underway

About 3000 police officers are scouring the streets of Paris for the three gunmen.

Police are forensically examining the black Citroen getaway car, which was found in the nearby 19th district in northeastern Paris.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (centre) arrives at the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Picture: Getty IMages Source: Getty Images

A police officer stands next to the bicycle of a police officer who was hit by a car near the shell of a bullet (bottom R) not far from the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Picture: Philippe Dupeyrat Source: AFP

People hug each other outside Charlie Hebdo's office. Picture: Remy de la Mauviniere Source: AP

French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon reacts outside of the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard Source: AFP

A woman cries outside the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard Source: AFP

Paris raises terror alert

French President Francois Hollande has condemned the attack as an "undoubtedly terrorist act."

Paris has raised its terror alert level to the highest setting following the attack with Mr Hollande calling an emergency cabinet meeting.

The French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said prosecutors have been asked to take all precautions to protect publications, cultural institutions and public places.

He said that all measures were being taken "to neutralise these three criminals who have committed this barbaric act."

French President Francois Hollande (C) arrives at the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

World leaders respond

World leaders have condemned Wednesday's shooting, calling it an attack on press freedom and barbaric.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the murders were "sickening".

"We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the killings were a "barbaric attack on freedom of speech".

"My thoughts are with the victims, their families and their colleagues," he said.

The White House said it condemns the Paris attack in "strongest possible terms."

"Everybody here at the White House are with the families of those who were killed or injured in this attack," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, speaking on MSNBC.

"Senior officials at the White House have been in close touch with their counterparts in France this morning."

He said the US was willing to help the French with an investigation.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the shooting was "also an attack on press and free speech", while Russian president Vladimir Putin said he "resolutely condemns terrorism."

What is Charlie Hebdo?

The satirical newspaper gained notoriety in February 2006 when it reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that had originally appeared in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, causing fury across the Muslim world.

Its offices were firebombed in November 2011 when it published a cartoon of Mohammed and under the title Charia Hebdo. No one was injured in that attack.

Previous attack ... this picture shows the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo when it was firebombed in 2011. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Despite being taken to court under anti-racism laws, the weekly continued to publish controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet. In September 2012 Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of a naked Mohammed as violent protests were taking place in several countries over a low-budget film, titled Innocence of Muslims, which was made in the United States and insulted the prophet.

French schools, consulates and cultural centres in 20 Muslim countries were briefly closed along with embassies for fear of retaliatory attacks at the time.

Before his death in Wednesday's shooting, editor Stephane Charbonnier received death threats and lived under police protection.

— More to come

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