World leaders condemn Paris shooting attack
US president offers American assistance in capturing terrorists; UN's Ban voices outrage at 'terrible terrorist attack.'
Obama offered US assistance after the attack that killed at least 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, including two police officers. The gunmen have not been apprehended.
"We are in touch with French officials and I have directed my administration to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice," Obama said in a statement. "France is America's oldest ally, and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against terrorists who threaten our shared security and the world."
Reports said two of the dead were police officers, and that there were 20 people wounded, at least four seriously; the fatalities included the editor and the cartoonist of the paper. It was France's deadliest terror attack in at least two decades.
"Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended. France and the great city of Paris, where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers," he said.
The Department of Homeland Security is closely monitoring the events in Paris and is in contact with security officials there, a DHS official said on Wednesday. The official said the department continually evaluates the level of protection at federal facilities but did not say that has been changed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday voiced outrage at the "terrible terrorist attack" at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo. He voiced "outrage at the despicable attack," which he described as a "horrendous, unjustifiable and cold-blooded crime."
"This horrific attack is meant to divide," Ban told reporters. "We must not fall into that trap."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined the chorus of world leaders condemning the shooting by black-hooded gunmen.
"This abominable act is not only an attack on the lives of French citizens and their security," Merkel said in a statement. "It is also an attack on freedom of speech and the press, core elements of our free democratic culture. In no way can this be justified." In a separate statement, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel called the attack an "unbelievably brutal crime".
Russian leader Vladimir Putin denounced the attack in a telegram to French President Hollande. "We decisively condemn this cynical crime. We reaffirm our readiness to continue active cooperation in combating the threat of terrorism."
Meanwhile in the British parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his support for the French in defending Western values. "This House and this country stand united with the French people in our opposition to all forms of terrorism and we stand squarely for free speech and democracy. These people will never be able to take us off those values."
Egypt's leading Islamic authority, Al-Azhar also condemned the fatal attack on the satirical magazine, known for lampooning radical Islam.
Al-Azhar, a thousand-year-old seat of religious learning respected by Muslims around the world, referred to the attack which killed at least 12 people as a criminal act on its Facebook site.
In a separate statement to AFP, Al-Azhar senior official Abbas Shoman said the institution "does not approve of using violence even if it was in response to an offense committed against sacred Muslim sentiments."
Reuters, the Associated Press, and AFP contributed to this report.
