#JeSuis…

17 dead and several injured in the aftermath of attacks throughout Paris

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, two masked gunmen entered the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper produced weekly in Paris, France. The men, now known to be Cherif and Said Kouachi, shot building caretaker Frederic Boisseau, 42, and forced cartoonist Corinne Rey to grant them access to the newsroom. Asking for Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier, 47, the gunmen opened fire, killing the editor, his bodyguard, Franck Brinsolaro, seven journalists and cartoonists – Jean “Cabu” Cabut, 76, Bernard “Tignous” Verlhac, 57, Georges Wolinski, 80, and Phillipe Honore, 73, Elsa Cayat, 55, “Uncle” Bernard Maris, 68, and Mustapha Ourrad, 60 – and Michel Renaud, 70, a guest who was attending the editorial meeting.

Witnesses reported that the gunmen, amidst calling the names of the slain journalists, shouted “We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad” and “God is Greatest” in Arabic. Leaving the building, the men opened fire on police officers blocking their escape. After doubling back to the police barricade, the gunmen shot and killed injured police officer Ahmed Merabet, 42, at close range.

It’s a travesty that people were murdered in cold blood. – Chris Lamarre (student)

After escaping, the Kouachis’ car was found abandoned three kilometres north of the Charlie Hebdo offices, containing several Molotov cocktails and two jihadist flags. The Kouachi brothers then hijacked another vehicle and disappeared from police intelligence for the remainder for the day.

On Thursday, Jan. 8, a lone gunman shot two people in the south of Paris, killing policewoman Clarissa Jean-Phillipe, 27, and injuring a bystander. Initially dismissed as an unlinked event, the connection between this shooting and the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices has been confirmed. Later that day, the Kouachi brothers robbed a service station in the Aisne region, armed with Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers to steal food and fuel.

The brothers led police on a chase around northeastern France, during which Said Kouachi, 34, was hit in the neck in a shootout. Arrest warrants were issued for the two men, profiling the previous criminal activities and terrorist allegiances of Said and Cherif, 32.

On Friday, Jan. 9, the Kouachi brothers were cornered 35 kilometres outside of Paris. Holed up in Creation Tendance Decouverte, a printing firm in Danmartin-en-Goele, the suspects were surrounded by hundreds of police officers, as well as snipers, helicopters, and military forces. After an eight-hour standoff, the brothers emerged from the building, opening fire on the surrounding troops. Both Kouachi brothers were killed, and two police officers were injured in the incident.

These gutless acts of terrorism need to stop. – Stephan Karis (student)

That same day, the lone gunman – later confirmed to be Amedy Coulibaly, 32 – who shot and killed Jean-Phillipe on Jan. 8, took several people hostage at a kosher supermarket in the east of Paris with his partner, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26. Coulibaly killed four men – Yohan Cohen, 22, who worked at the supermarket, Phillipe Braham, 45, Yoav Hattab, 21, and Francois-Michel Saada, 64 – and threatened to kill his hostages unless the Kouachi brothers went free.

Special forces moved on Coulibaly and Boumeddiene immediately following the death of Cherif and Said Kouachi, killing Coulibaly and freeing 15 hostages. Boumeddiene escaped and is still wanted by the police, assumed to have fled France and travelled to Syria.

Before his death, Coulibaly told French news network BFMTV that he had “synchronized” his attacks with those of the Kouachi brothers. “They started with Charlie Hebdo, and I started with the police,” Coulibaly said.

I am profoundly saddened by these devastating murders as well as by all of the other tragic events that have taken place in recent months around the world – that seem to be the result of a persistent intolerance and disrespect of the values, beliefs, and dignity of other humans. May we somehow find a way to realize that we all have more in common than we have differences! – Ron Shuebrooke (Founder of the School of Fine Arts and Music)

Lassana Bathily, an employee at the market, has been lauded a hero for his bravery during the incident, guiding several hostages to the walk-in freezer in the basement of the market and instructing the people to remain calm. Bathily, a practicing Muslim originally from Mali, took the freight elevator out of the basement and ran out of the store. Apprehended by the surrounding forces, Bathily described the location of the freezer and helped police to extract several of the surviving 15 hostages.

Although the connection between the attackers has been confirmed – Coulibaly and Cherif Kouachi met in prison in the south of France 10 years ago, falling under the influence of jihadist Djamel Beghal – the motives behind stack up to be more diverse. Cherif and Said Koachi declared themselves to be allegiant to the militant group Al Qaeda in Yemen, while Coulibaly, in a video released by French media outlets after his death, declared his allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS). It remains unclear, however, whether either terrorist organization had any involvement in the attacks throughout Paris.

Response to the incidents in Paris from around the world has been both unified, in support of the protection of free speech, and varied, in terms of how that support is presented. France, in light of the attacks, has mobilized 10,000 troops to increase security across the country. The hashtag #JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) has become popular on various social media sites, with millions around the world uniting in support of free expression. Nearly four million people took to the streets on Sunday, Jan. 11, with almost two million gathered in Paris alone, to march and rally in support of the freedom of expression and in memory of the 17 victims of the previous week’s attacks.

These are dark days not just for Europe but also for Canada. Freedom of expression and the use of satyr in highlighting and countering relevant issues of our day wont be destroyed by thugs and criminals. Transparent discourse is the only way forward. – David J. Knight (Writer and University of Guelph Alumnus)

In the immediate wake of the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices, however, several mosques around the city were attacked, sparking tension between the French Muslim community and those gathering in support of the #JeSuisCharlie movement. Those who stand in opposition to this movement, uniting under the flag #JeNeSuisPasCharlie (I am not Charlie), are not necessarily in support of violence, nor of eradicating freedom of expression, but rather refuse to take part in a global movement which rests on the backs of those who “insulted the Prophet Muhammad.”

Particular support has rallied around remembering the police officer shot outside the Charlie Hebdo offices, Ahmed Merabet, who was a practicing Muslim. The hashtag #JeSuisAhmed (I am Ahmed) has circulated social media sites, often accompanied by a poignant Evelyn Beatrice Hall quote: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” The hashtag #JeSuisJuif (I am Jewish) has also been prominent in social media, garnering support and attention following the Jan. 9 attack on the kosher supermarket.

It’s scary that this is what our world has come to. – Conner Hewson (student)

Several media outlets across the globe began to reprint Charlie Hebdo cartoons to show solidarity with their dedication to the freedom of expression. Others, like The New York Times, The CBC, and The Globe and Mail have abstained, not because of a lack of solidarity but because of their right to “defend Charlie Hebdo without embracing and endorsing everything the satirical newspaper ever did.”

“The right of Charlie Hebdo, and all the Charlie Hebdos of the world, to publish provocative, offensive, satirical cartoons must be backed without reservation,” wrote a Globe and Mail editor in an editorial published Sunday, Jan. 11. “But so too must the right of [others] to make different choices.”