12 dead as French magazine attacked over Mohammed drawings

Danish security alertness remains unaffected by brutal shootings

Jan 7, 2015

At least 12 people are dead and 24 wounded after gunmen attacked the editorial offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris this morning.

While it is still unclear exactly why the gunmen attacked the magazine, one of the journalists is reported to have said that before opening fire the gunmen shouted: ”Now the prophet will be avenged," indicating it could very well be linked to the magazine's reprinting of the Mohammed cartoons in 2007.

A string of Danish politicians including Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the head of opposition party Venstre, have blasted the brutal shootings as an attack on free society and free speech.

”It fills me with disgust and dismay,” Rasmussen wrote on Facebook. ”My first thought goes to those killed and their loved ones. Then I think about our own challenges, because in Denmark we unfortunately also have people who want to change our society. We must never ever give in to that!”

Firebombed in 2011
Charlie Hebdo – which is known for its satirical derision of all religions – became a target of Islamists in 2007 when it reprinted Jyllands-Posten newspaper's Mohammed cartoons.

Four years later in 2011, Jyllands-Posten publically supported the French publication after its offices were firebombed for revealing that it planned to feature a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Mohammed with a front cover saying "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter".

No change to security
The Danish authorities have already said the Paris attack will not have any consequences for Denmark's security situation.

”The Copenhagen Police and PET are following the situation in Paris closely, but it hasn't led to any alertness changes as of yet,” Mogens Lauridsen from the Copenhagen Police told DR Nyheder.

Two of the people killed were police officers responding to the situation, while most of the remaining victims are believed to be part of the editorial staff of the magazine. The gunmen have yet to be found and no-one has yet taken responsibility for the deadly attack.