Twelve people have been killed and three others were critically injured in a terrorist attack at the office of a Paris-based satirical magazine Wednesday, police said.
The shooting at the office of Charlie Hebdo was a "cowardly attack," said French President Francois Hollande, speaking at the shooting scene.
"This is a terrorist operation against an office that has been threatened several times, which is why it was protected," he said.
After storming the office, the masked gunmen were seen fleeing the scene s they crid ‘’Allahu Akbar’’ and later hijacked a car. They have not been caught.
The tragedy marks France's deadliest terror attack in decades. France raised its alert to the highest level, and reinforced security at houses of worship, stores, media offices and transportation.
The magazine's office was firebombed in 2011 and its website was hacked after its cover featured the prophet Muhammad. Nearly a year later, the publication again published crude Muhammad caricatures, drawing denunciations around the Muslim world.
The cover of this week’s issue of the magazine focuses on a new book by Michel Houellebecq, “Submission,” which depicts France led by an Islamic party that bans women from the workplace.