Deadly Terrorist Attack In Paris on Satirical Magazine Staff and the Quick ID of Suspects

Former French Special Forces member and security expert Fabrice Magnier joins the conversation from France to outline the key points of the terrorist attack by Muslim extremists in Paris that killed 11 staffers of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and one police officer.

“People are really shocked about what happened today – people are not prepared to face such a situation – and what happened today is very, very odd for most of the people watching TV,” Fabrice said. “Especially the specific video when we can see the bad guys shooting the police officer on the street.”

When asked about why there was no security outside the offices of the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo where the attack took place, Fabrice said since the magazine had already been threatened by extremist groups for several years, such an attack would have been virtually impossible to predict.

“Routine is our worst enemy in that case, so it’s very difficult to protect and maintain such a level of protection for such a long time. It’s very difficult to maintain such a level of vigilance,” he said, adding that as far as he knows, only one police officer was assigned to protect the director of the magazine.

Fabrice also addresses the proliferation of homegrown extremist terrorists in France, saying that while many French citizens might have been surprised by the latest attack and the existence of jihadists based locally, law enforcement officials are well aware of the threat.

“Our police, and especially our anti-terrorist units and intelligence agencies, are doing a great job to stop those terrorist attack attempts,” he said.

Fabrice points out that in the past few months, there were several incidents in which extremist suspects were arrested after a few episodes that he said were clearly symptomatic of the underlying situation in the country.

On France’s history with satire in the media that has historically been targeted at politicians and other national figures, he said it remains an important part of French society. “Satire is very important in France and I would say is a basis for freedom of expression in our country,” Fabrice said, adding that most French people are not opposed to using this form of media to reflect views of the society as a whole.

In updating the latest events of the incident, Fabrice said one of the suspects identified by French authorities was caught because he left his ID card in the getaway car used after the attack.

He said it is not yet known what group any of the terrorist suspects belonged to, and previous incidents have involved multiple extremist organizations.

Watch the full interview to also hear Fabrice’s thoughts on current steps the country is taking to combat homegrown terrorists, as well as whether he thinks the latest attack wil have any impact on anti-terror laws in France.