Manhunt continues for two French terror suspects

PARIS — Authorities identified three suspects in a deadly shooting attack on a satirical newspaper that killed 12 people Wednesday as thousands jammed a public square for an evening vigil honoring victims of France's deadliest terror attack in a half century.

Two of those killed were police officers, one of them shot dead on a sidewalk outside the newspaper. Eight journalists were among the victims.

The suspects are two brothers — Said, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32, both French nationals — and Hamyd Mourad, 18, whose nationality wasn't known, a Paris police official told the Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The youngest suspect surrendered at a police station in Charleville-Mezieres, a small town in France's eastern Champagne region, Paris prosecutor's spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said. French police early Thursday released photos of the brothers they were seeking, saying they should be considered armed and dangerous.

French news media reported late Wednesday that a major police operation was taking place around an apartment building in Reims, about 90 miles northeast of Paris.

The brothers were born in Paris of Algerian descent. Cherif was sentenced to three years in prison on terrorism charges in May 2008. Both brothers returned from Syria this summer.

At least 15,000 gathered at the Place de la République for a vigil after the three gunmen, wearing hoods and armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles, stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, shouting Islamic phrases and killing 12 people. The publication is a satirical newspaper that has caricatured the prophet Mohammed.

"They wanted to put France down on its knees, but we will show them solidarity and unity," Ilan Scialom, 30, vice president of COEXISTER, an interfaith group in Paris that promotes tolerance, said at the Paris rally. Thousands turned out for similar vigils in Lyon and elsewhere across Europe. Some held signs saying, "Not afraid."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the midday attack.

Eight journalists, a guest and two police officers were killed, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, giving a partial breakdown of the dead. Among those killed were Bernard Maris, an economist who contributed to the newspaper and was heard regularly on French radio, and cartoonists Georges Wolinski and Berbard Verlhac, better known as Tignous.

President Francois Hollande called the attack a terrorist act "of exceptional barbarism," and said other attacks have been thwarted in France in recent weeks. Fears have been running high in France and elsewhere in Europe that jihadis returning from conflicts in Syria and Iraq will stage attacks at home.

Cherif Kouachi was well known to French law enforcement. At 26, he was sentenced to three years in prison with 18 months suspended for criminal association with a terrorist enterprise for his conviction in 2008 as part of a group of seven men.

Prosecutors said the group recruited French Muslims to fight for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The group, known as the 19th Arrondissement Network for the working class Paris district where it was based, allegedly recruited young men, arranged for weapons training and helped them travel though Syria to Iraq. Police arrested Kouachi in January 2005, days before he allegedly planned to travel to Syria.

The rampage began around noon when the suspects killed a receptionist to gain entrance to the offices in central Paris, then opened fire on a second-floor editorial meeting, killing 10 people, Molins said. The officers were killed during the suspects' getaway, he said.

Eleven others were injured, including four who were listed in serious condition.

Molins said the attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") and the "prophet is avenged" before fleeing in a stolen black Citroen, exchanging gunfire at least twice with police outside.

Cartoonist Corine Rey, also known as "Coco," told the weekly Humanité that she was forced at gunpoint to allow the men inside the building.

"They shot (cartoonists) Wolinski, Cabu … it lasted about five minutes," she told the newspaper, according to France24. "I took cover under a desk. … They spoke perfect French. … They said they were al-Qaeda."

The dead included Stephane Charbonnier, the weekly newspaper's editorial director known as Charb, spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre of the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed. Charb's bodyguard — assigned to him after death threats — was among those killed, said Christophe Crepin, a police union spokesman. Four cartoonists whose work included controversial drawings of the prophet Mohammed were killed.

In response to the death threats, Charb, according to France24, told colleagues at one point, "I am not afraid of retaliation. I have no kids, no wife, no car, no credit. It perhaps sounds a bit pompous, but I prefer to die standing than living on my knees."

One police officer was shot execution-style on a sidewalk. The gunman, in a chilling video taken from a second-floor balcony, opened fire on a police officer, who collapsed. One of the gunmen then calmly walked up to the officer and killed him, before returning to the getaway car with his fellow assailant.

The newspaper's editor, Gerard Biard, escaped the attack because he was in London.

The publication, whose barbs are aimed at a wide range of religious and political institutions, has been heavily criticized by Muslims for years. In 2011, its offices were firebombed after a spoof issue featured a caricature of Mohammed on its cover.

In Paris, as word of the killings spread, crowds gathered for an impromptu show of support at the Place de la République.

By evening, Parisians huddled under the arm of the statue of the Glory of the Republic of France, clapped and chanted "Charlie" and "Liberté." Many held signs that read, "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie"), while others held up pens to symbolize the freedom of the press.

"I'm under shock, I think like all French journalists. I came here because I wanted to express my solidarity with Charlie and show my support for freedom of expression," said Sarah Halifa-Legrand, a reporter attending the vigil. "There are so many people, everywhere in the square. Some have climbed up on the statue; people have lit up little candles. It's very touching. There's not so much noise, it's quiet. People are mourning. It's very moving."

In Washington, President Obama condemned the "horrific shooting" and said the United States was in touch with French officials "to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice."

Secretary of State John Kerry called the incident a "murderous attack" and said "each and every American" stood beside France.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the World Editors Forum condemned the assault.

"An attack of this nature strikes at the heart of the very freedoms that the press in France so passionately defends," WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne said in a statement. "It is not just an attack against the press, but also an attack on the fabric of our society and the values for which we all stand."

Welch reported from Los Angeles. Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger in Washington; Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.; Jabeen Bhatti in Berlin; Kim Hjelmgaard in London; the Associated Press.