Fuck Muhammad!!!

[HairOfTheDog]

If the place I worked had threats like that there would be cameras, lock down devices and a couple good guards hired as protection.

I'm finding that hard to understand. These were very bright people who absolutely knew who they were dealing with and the risks they were taking. They should have had so much more security in place than one simple rent a cop.

Hebdo's Paris office was bombed 4 years ago after it featured a cover declaring Muhammad its editor-in-chief.

They've also been taunting those who threaten them for years. Ironically, this is one of the last cartoons by Charb.

Translation: "Still no attack in France. Wait! We can send best wishes till end of January." (Probably referring to their satire of Baghdadi wishing good health to his followers, IMO.)

So, I'm not shocked at all that terrorists targeted Hebdo and its artists. But, I really am shocked that the gunmen could just storm into their building with masks over their faces and brandishing semi-automatic rifles without facing any strong resistance, shoot up the offices, and then exit the premises without being stopped or shot. The terrorists reportedly told surviving witnesses that they were al-Qaeda.

I wouldn't have expected the Charlie Hebdo employees to be working/living in fear or in a fortress or anything, but kinda assumed the Paris office required secured entry and was monitored by armed guards. Maybe it was secured and guarded, but the gunmen had an inside contact or a honed strategy to bypass security? We'll probably learn more about the logistics in the coming hours/days.

In the meantime, police are searching for two brothers and a friend/associate -- all of whom reportedly live in France (no identities released). They fled in the car seen in the video posted upthread, abandoned it, and took off in a stolen vehicle.

ETA: posting at same time as Duchess -- I see from her post above that there was secured entry and the artists had guards.