French cartoonists killed in Paris took a profane aim at the world

A moment of silence for the victims, who also included a popular columnist and a copy editor, was observed at noon Paris time.

Charlie Hebdo magazine editor Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier was killed when hooded attackers carrying assault rifles burst in and shouted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” as they opened fire, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins. The attackers said they “avenged the Prophet.”

The dead included Georges Wolinski, who worked under the pen name Wolinski; Jean “Cabu” Cabut; Bernard “Tignous” Verlhac; and Philippe Honore, known as Honore. They ranked among the most popular and best-known members of a provocative staff whose cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in recent years angered some Muslims.

Also killed was journalist, economist and Charlie Hebdo shareholder Bernard Maris.

Those killed were targeted for their artistic creations. The gunmen separated the men from the women and called out the names of cartoonists they intended to kill, said Dr. Gerald Kierzek, a physician who treated wounded patients and spoke with survivors.

Patrick Klugman, deputy mayor of Paris, said the victims included “the most famous cartoonists” in France in decades.

“It’s a very big and deep shock for all the press and for all the world,” he said. “It’s a major, major loss. Never a newspaper has been (targeted) by this violence.”

Throughout France and Europe, thousands rallied Wednesday evening, expressing solidarity with France and Charlie Hebdo and defiance to those behind the bloodshed.

At an event in Paris’ Place de la Republique, demonstrators raised pens in honor of the slain cartoonists and chanted, “We are Charlie!” Pictures posted online showed similar demonstrations in other cities, including Rome, Berlin and Barcelona.

Stephane ‘Charb’ Charbonnier

Charbonnier, like his magazine, was no stranger to controversy for lampooning a variety of subjects, including Christianity. But his staff’s acerbic take on Islam generated the most attention and vitriol and made him a target for extremists.

Brinsolaro, 49, was at the Charlie Hebdo offices as a protection officer for Charbonnier. The Daily Mail reports that he was the married father of two children.

Brinsolaro’s wife, Ingrid, is the editor in chief of L’Eveil Normand, a weekly news publication in the northwest of France, according to a report from the French radio station Tendance Ouest, the Los Angeles Times said.

He was a member of France’s Protection Service, which provides security for important people and institutions, the Los Angeles Times reported. Brinsolaro held the rank of brigadier, which is the same as a sergeant, the newspaper said.

A security guard, a copy editor, a former mayoral chief of staff and a beloved columnist

The other four victims are, as identified by Didier Guillaume, a member the French Senate:

Michel Renaud, Mustapha Ourrad, Elsa Cayat and Frederic Boisseau.

Boisseau was a security guard who had worked for 15 years in the building, The New York Times reported. He was on the first floor when the gunmen burst in, spraying the lobby with gunfire. Boisseau was killed as he sat at a welcome desk, according to an interview with Corrine Rey, a cartoonist at the magazine, the Times reported.

Cayat was the only woman killed, Le Monde reported. She was a psychoanalyst and twice-monthly columnist who wrote about a variety of subjects but focused on relationships, the newspaper said. Her column, translated in English as “The Couch,” was popular among many.

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Ourrad, born in Algeria, was a copy editor for Charlie Hebdo. He moved to France 20 years ago and worked for several other publication before joining the magazine, Le Monde reported.

Renaud, the former chief of staff for the mayor of Clermont-Ferrand, was only visiting Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday because he was returning some drawings that cartoonist Cabut had lent to him for a travel book about Clermont-Ferrand, Le Monde said. Renaud was invited to attend the staff editorial meeting where much of the bloodshed occurred.

CNN’s Alanne Orjoux, Rafael Romo and Lorenzo Ferrigno contributed to this report.

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