Explosions, Gunshots Reported Near Hostage Situation In Northern Paris
Police reported explosions near where suspects involved in the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack are reportedly holed up north of Paris.
Authorities were reportedly positioning snipers on the roofs surrounding a small printing company in Dammartin-en-Goele, located just outside of Paris. Police believe the two suspects involved in the Charlie Hebdo shooting are hiding in the small business with a hostage.
Police already exchanged fire with the two suspects, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, in a high speed chase that led them to the CDT printing business. The suspects reportedly managed to also capture a hostage while in the printing business, and police have reportedly set up negotiators to release the hostage.
Developing reports indicate that explosions and gunshots were heard near where the men are holed up in Dammartin-en-Goele at around 5 p.m. local time in northern France.
A second hostage situation also unfolded Friday in an eastern area of Paris, where a gunman took five hostages at a Jewish grocery store in Porte de Vincennes. The suspect responsible for the hostage situation is believed to be connected to the shooting of a female police officer in southern Paris on Thursday; the suspect is also believed to have a connection to the Kouachi brothers.
France's President Francois Hollande has spoken out on the recent terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper headquarters that left 12 dead, calling the act "cowardly" and promising justice for the two suspects.
"An act of exceptional barbarism has been committed in Paris against a newspaper. A paper, in other words, an organ of free speech. An act against journalists who had always wanted to show that in France it was possible to defend one's ideas, and exercise their rights that are guaranteed and protected by the Republic," Hollande said in a statement.