Death by Cartoons

Last night at 11:30pm New Zealand Daylight Time, three masked gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles, a shotgun, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher stormed the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. They shot and killed 12 people, including Charlie Hebdo staff and two French National police officers, and wounded 11 others. The gunmen entered the building and began shooting with automatic weapons, while shouting "Allahu Akbar". Up to 50 shots were fired during the attack. Following a massive manhunt, the French police believe they have located the attackers and are mounting an operation against them. One suspect has turned himself in. The incident is France's deadliest act of terrorism since 18 June 1961, when 28 people died in a train bombing.

Prior to the shooting, the gunmen had burst into number 6 Rue Nicolas-Appert, where the magazine's archives were based. The gunmen reportedly shouted "Is this Charlie Hebdo?", before realizing they had the wrong address and fleeing. They then went to the magazine's headquarters at number 10 Rue Nicolas-Appert. Cartoonist Corinne Rey reported that two armed and hooded men, speaking perfect French, threatened the life of her toddler daughter whom she had picked up from day care, and forced her to type in the code to open the door to the building. The men then moved up to an office on the second floor, where the staff were in an editorial meeting, with approximately 15 members in attendance. The entire shooting lasted between five and ten minutes. Witnesses reported that the gunmen sought out members of the staff by name before executing them with single shots to the head. Other witnesses reported that the gunmen identified themselves as belonging to al-Qaeda in Yemen.

The targeting of journalists going about their daily work is an attack on the fourth estate and the democratic principles of freedom of speech and expression, which must be strongly condemned. Violence will always lose against freedom and democracy, just like it did when Sony decided they would release The Interview after all. Neither the Sony hackers or al-Qaeda will be able to destroy the most sacred that we human beings have, that is, our rights and our freedoms.