GUNFIRE ERUPTING AT THE OFFICE

OF THE FRENCH SATIRICAL MAGAZINE

WE JUST TOLD BUT.

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, THIS WAS THE

TARGET OF AN ATTACK SEVERAL

YEARS AGO IN RESPONSE TO THE

CARTOONS OF THE PROPHET

MOHAMMED.

FOR MORE ON THE BREAKING NEWS

AND WHAT'S GOING ON, WE GO LIVE

TO PARIS.

WHAT DO WE KNOW, JIM?

>> BASICALLY THIS IS THE THIRD

ATTACK ON THIS MAGAZINE OVER THE

LAST TEN YEARS.

AND WE'RE NOT SURE ON THE

DETAILS.

WHAT'S APPARENTLY HAPPENED IS

THAT THIS MORNING TWO GUNMEN

MASKED AND WEARING BLACK, BROKE

IN TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE

NEWSPAPER LOCATED NEAR THE

BASTILE DISTRICT IN PARIS AND

STARTED FIRING WITH AUTOMATIC

WEAPONS.

THE FIRING WENT ON FOR ABOUT

FIVE MINUTES.

WE DON'T HAVE CONFIRMATION OF

THIS.

BUT ACCORDING TO A POLICE UNION

SPOKESMAN, THERE MAY BE AS MANY

AS TEN PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAD.

WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONFIRMATION

OF THIS.

BUT THE POLICE UNION SPOKESMAN

SAID IT WAS A REAL BUTCHERY, IN

FACT THE SHOOTING WENT ON FOR A

LONG TIME.

SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES AND SOME

OF THE EDITORS OF THE NEWSPAPER

WENT TO THE ROOF TO FIND

SANCTUARY THERE.

AND THE SHOOTING WENT ON LIKE I

SAY FOR ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE

MINUTES.

PROSECUTORS, THE PARIS

PROSECUTOR IS ON HIS WAY TO THE

SCENE NOW.

AS IS THE INTERIOR MINISTER.

SO I THINK IT'S A FAIRLY SERIOUS

SITUATION.

WE SHOULD HAVE MORE IN COMING

HOURS, ALISYN?

>> WERE THERE THREATS AGAINST

THIS MAGAZINE THIS TIME AROUND?

>> WELL THERE HAVE BEEN FOR SOME

TIME.

THIS NEWSPAPER IS KNOWN FOR ITS

VERY DARING KIND OF SATIRIC

HUMOR AND THEY'VE HAD ALL KINDS

OF COVERS THAT HAVE BEEN VERY

CONTROVERSIAL.

IT'S ANTI-RELIGION OF EVERY

SORT.

THEY'VE MADE FUN OF CATHOLICS

AND JEWS, BUT ALSO MOST NOTABLY,

ISLAM.

AND PUBLISHED SEVERAL PHOTOS OF

MOHAMMED, OR DRAWINGS OF

MOHAMMED AND THAT OVER THE YOEAS

HAS GOTTEN THEM INTO TROUBLE,

INCLUDING A FIREBOMB ATTACK IN

2011.

POLICE SURVEILLANCE HAD BEEN

TIGHT AROUND THE NEWSPAPER UNTIL

RECENTLY.

BUT A JOURNALIST SAID THIS

MORNING THAT SOME OF THE POLICE

SURVEILLANCE HAD BEEN WITHDRAWN

IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS.

SO IT'S NOT CLEAR THAT THERE

WERE ENOUGH, THERE WERE ANY

POLICEMEN AROUND WHEN THE ATTACK

HAPPENED THIS MORNING.

>> IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT IN

UNDERSTANDING WHY THIS MAY HAVE

HAPPENED.

THE EVOLVING SITUATION, YOU HAVE

IN FRANCE, WITH ISLAM,

ESPECIALLY THE EXTREMIST

FACTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY.

NOT JUST IN THE COUNTRY, BUT

SPECIFICALLY IN PARIS, NORTH

PARIS, AND ANY CONNECTION SO FAR

TO THAT?

>> WELL NO CONNECTIONS SO FAR.

BUT THE FACT IS, YES, I MEAN IN

FACT, ABOUT 10% OF THE

POPULATION IN FRANCE IS, IS OF

THE MUSLIM RELIGION AND THERE'S

BEEN A PROBLEM OVER THE LAST

YEAR OR SO, THAT'S BEEN NOTED BY

AUTHORITIES HERE, ABOUT YOUNG

MUSLIMS BEING DRAWN IN TO THE

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND

BEING RADICALIZED.

WE SAW VIDEO JUST FAIRLY

RECENTLY, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO,

THAT SHOWED SOME OF THE YOUNG

MUSLIMS FROM FRANCE WHO WERE

INVOLVED IN THE BEHEADINGS THAT

WERE TAKING PLACE IN THE ISIS

AREAS OF IRAQ.

SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT

AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN QUITE

CONCERNED ABOUT.

AND IT SHOULD BE SAID, TOO, THAT

THEY'RE QUITE CONCERNED THAT

SOME OF THOSE FOLKS WHO HAD BEEN

TRAINED UP IN THE MIDDLE EAST

MIGHT COME BACK TO FRANCE AND

PERPETRATE ATTACKS HERE.

WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO

CONNECT THIS MORNING'S ACTION

WITH THAT BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF

THING THAT AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN

WORRIED ABOUT.

>> JIM, WE KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE

CONFIRMATION YET OF HOW MANY

PEOPLE WERE KILLED INSIDE.

YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AT

WORK THERE TODAY?

>> WELL, IT WAS A NORMAL WORKING

DAY.

IT'S A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, THEY

WERE APPARENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF

THEIR EDITORIAL MEETING THIS

MORNING, CONVERSING WITH THE

VARIOUS EDITORS AND CARTOONISTS

INVOLVED AT THE NEWSPAPER.

IT'S UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME HOW

MANY PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN

THERE.

BUT ONE CAN IMAGINE THEY HAVE A

STAFF AROUND 50-60 PEOPLE ALL

TOLD.

THAT A GOOD PART OF THOSE PEOPLE

WERE THERE FOR THE MEETINGS THIS

MORNING.

>> TO BE CLEAR IN TERMS OF WHAT

WE'RE DEALING WITH HERE, THIS

WASN'T JUST AN OPEN ASSAULT ON

THIS OFFICE WHERE THEY WERE ALL

VICTIMLESS.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT POLICE WERE

ALSO INVOLVED IN THIS AND IT

TURNED INTO A FIREFIGHT, IS THAT

TRUE?

>> WELL IN FACT APPARENTLY THERE

WERE AGAIN WE HAVE NO

CONFIRMATION OF THIS.

THERE MAY HAVE BEEN TWO POLICE

OFFICERS WHO WERE WOUNDED WHILE

THEY WERE TRYING TO PURSUE THE

GUNMAN.

BUT AS I SAID, MENTIONED

EARLIER.

ONE JOURNALIST TOLD BFM, OUR

SISTER NETWORK HERE, THAT IN

FACT POLICE SURVEILLANCE OF THIS

NEWSPAPER HAD BEEN SOMEWHAT

DRAWN DOWN IN RECENT WEEKS.

SO IT'S NOT CLEAR HOW MANY

POLICE MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE

AREA.

UP UNTIL THAT POINT, THE

NEWSPAPER HAD BEEN UNDER 24/7

SURVEILLANCE WITH A TRUCK LOAD

OF POLICE OUT FRONT EVERY DAY.

SO IT'S NOT CLEAR HOW MANY

POLICE MIGHT HAVE BEEN THERE

THIS MORNING.

BUT ACCORDING TO ONE JOURNALIST

WHO WAS ACROSS THE STREET FROM

THE NEWSPAPER, HE SAID THAT IN

FACT, RECENTLY THE NUMBER OF

POLICE SURVEILLING THE OFFICES

HAD BEEN WITHDRAWN.

>> WE'RE GETTING THE LATEST

BULLETIN FROM THE POLICE THERE,

THEY SAY THAT AT LEAST ONE

JOURNALIST HAS BEEN KILLED.

THREE POLICE OFFICERS THEY SAY

WERE WOUNDED.

DURING THIS SHOOTING AT THE

NEWSPAPER AS YOU'RE SAYING.

TWO HEAVILY ARMED GUN MEN

ENTERED THE NEWSPAPER'S

HEADQUARTERS, OPENED FIRE INSIDE

THE BUILDING, PARIS MAYOR'S

OFFICE SAYS AT LEAST SIX PEOPLE

WERE WOUNDED.

THOSE ARE THE LATEST NUMBERS

THAT WE'RE GETTING, UNLESS

YOU'RE HEARING SOMETHING

DIFFERENT.

>> NO, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY

THE LATEST THAT WE'VE GOT.

AND IN FACT, WE HAVE THE

PROSECUTOR AND THE INTERIOR

MINISTER OF FRANCE ON HIS WAY TO

THE SCENE RIGHT NOW.

AND I SUSPECT ONCE THEY GET ON

THE SCENE WE'RE GOING TO SEE

SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING THAT

WILL CLARIFY THE SITUATION.

UNTIL THEN, I THINK IT WILL

PROBABLY TRICKLE OUT A BIT BY

BIT.

AS I MENTIONED, POLICE UNION

SPOKESMAN WAS TOLD OUR

COLLEAGUES THAT BFM TELEVISION

HERE IN FRANCE, THAT IN FACT HE

THOUGHT THAT AS MANY AS 10