e of carnage as described by some witnesses. the report say multiple gunmen -- the numbers are still unsure -- went into charlie hebdo, the satirical magazine, and started shooting. 10 people dead, five injured critically injured. what is the latest? >> francois hollande has been speaking to the media over the last number of minutes. he moved back down toward the offices. he was standing in the middle of

the road, surrounded by armed guards, quite tense here. a real air of just sadness and shock as we watch it unfold here. we are waiting for comments from other people that would speak to the media, which we have seen over the last 20 minutes or so. we saw them entering the building. obviously a lot of vehicles and troops. , so they are starting to do their work at the scene. >> does it seem as if there could be any possibility of other people injured or any other government perhaps inside the building, or does it seem that the perpetrators have fled? >> there is a real sense that this is the aftermath.

it was mentioned that unarmed weapon was retrieved at the scene, but very much this is the aftermath. it is that eerie calm, perhaps after an event has unfolded like this. quite strange that normal life goes on, as francois hollande was addressing the french people coming out on their balconies living in the apartments surrounding, with their lives going on, but obviously the horror of it has hit the street. but the attackers have fled, and obviously are elsewhere in the city right now. there is a large security presence around the area, but obviously security will be heightened now in paris as the search effort continues. >> did you get a chance to speak to any witnesses this morning?

>> francois hollande was very quickly on the scene and speaking to the media for several minutes. we are very much cordoned off. again, quite tense as police are taking no chances and the street is cordoned off. so the police are taking no chances, and controlling the media quite severely. but obviously we have noted the comings and goings of the police have started their work. >> clare murphy joining us at the headquarters of charlie hebdo, the securable your magazine that was attacked earlier today, leaving 11 people shot dead, another 10 wounded with four in critical condition. french president francois hollande was there earlier on the scene. let's listen to what he had to say. >> an act of a sectional -- of

exceptional barbarism here in paris against a newspaper, a newspaper that is an expression of liberty. against journalists who have always wanted to show that in france they could suspend their ideas and have that freedom that the public protects. >> that is francois hollande speaking about the attack on charlie hebdo earlier today. we are getting comment reaction , from around the world. british prime minister given camera has condemned the attack, calling it sickening, and saying that britain stands with france in the fight against terrorism. let's bring in our correspondent. >> the emphasis on freedom of speech has been the main thing in international reactions david cameron talking about an

unambiguous defense of freedom of speech, and queuing -- echoing president hollande. alexander stoop, the -- alexander stoop, the prime minister of finland, condemning the harley -- the horrible shooting, saying we must all stand up for freedom of speech and expression. so already you can see a few world leaders lining up to really see this as an attack on the media. if not perhaps kind of the target that we expected. we have been talking a lot in context of the terrorist threat about self targets, train stations restaurants, bars that kind of thing. the fact that the media has been targeted has, i'm sure -- i am sure will lead to re-appraisals of the whole terrorist threat

and who it is directed against. >> indeed it is true. francois hollande speaking earlier, saying that he believes without a doubt this was indeed a terrorist attack. what proof is he basing that on? >> if there is anything beyond the material evidence that we see and that we have been reporting in the last hour, if there is anything more, he did not give it to us. what we know at this stage is pretty simple. it is still fairly basic in terms of the explanations and the fact that we know. multiple gunmen entered charlie hebdo midmorning in paris. they had kalashnikov rifles. some descriptions saying they were heavily armed. kalashnikov rifles do not fit the description of heavy armament, but the point being that it is a weapon that you obtain not by accident.

this is something you obtain when you intend to carry out a sizable attack. it is not someone with just a knife. what we're looking at here, is those are the elements, those are the facts. if francois hollande has anything more about the motivation of the people, possible identities, at this stage it is highly unlikely and he certainly is not giving it to us. >> we are getting more witness reports in the "france 24" offices. this kind of a shooting is terrible wherever in the world it happens, but i think particularly in france, here in paris, this is something unlike anything we have seen before. >> of course, it is the first of its kind. in the media, we have been worried about being targets

ourselves, of course. one thing that is particularly disturbing in all of this is the report that gunmen were asking for journalists by name before they opened fire with the ak-47's, as being reported. that, i think, does fit in with what we were being told about the planned and well researched nature of this operation. these attackers obviously knew exactly what they were doing and had finessed the targets, it seems not only in terms of the actual -- how they would get in, but apparently the actual names of the journalists there apparently they had been singling out those who they probably deemed to be most responsible for charlie hebdo's

line of the prophet mohammed and so on and so forth. >> joining us now on the set mark roman. what have you been able to gain so far? >> it is difficult to figure out exactly what happened. there are rumors, clearly tragic , and the number of death is there. what we know is that the french government has been very worried -- the french president repeated what officials have been saying off the record, but more and more on the record, that ants -- that france had been the target of failed terror attacks recently. that this was not a general warning, but they had precise attacks foiled by security services. what they were fearing was the kind of lone wolf attack that

many people fear happened during the holiday season when there were several incidents of cars you know, pedestrians, and so on. what they were fearing is something kind of in between the lone wolf attacks and the more sophisticated attack, which is what apparently happened, what armen just said. the coordinated attack, but not as sophisticated as a bomb in the subway system or something that we have seen many in the years before, 20 years ago those of us who remember a series of attacks in the subway system. for a kind of an attack that we see sometimes in the united states, for instance, that are more the criminal type of attacks. but the message that seems to

have been aired at the time, if it is indeed a political message about radical islam, that means the attackers were trained in a criminal way, to perpetrate this attack while carrying a political message. this is clearly something very difficult for the security services to fight. that being said, there will clearly be questions about how well charlie hebdo is protected because of the previous attacks. the newspaper was under police surveillance, so questions will be asked after emotions calm down, how come those people were able to get in, shoot for a long time, and kill so many people? >> we were hearing witness reports of 30 shots. 11 people shot dead at charlie hebdo today. another 10 shot and wounded. four of them are wounded critically.

the french prime minister's office not long ago releasing a report that it was raising france's security level to the highest notch. tell us about what that means, now that it is at the highest level. >> it means that there are more security checks and more patrols on the streets just after those incidents that i mentioned around new year's and christmas. the prime minister already went on the air and said there would be 200, 300 more soldiers on the streets. this means there will be even more patrols, more protection for potential targets, maybe other media outlets. the president has said we will try to protect places similar to the targets of such attacks. we will see more patrols in the streets, more security checks, maybe more bomb alerts.

but that being said, there is only that much you can do to protect against a terrorist threat, especially if it becomes a more sophisticated and more diversified threat. this is what is happening. with security services, it is nearly impossible, especially at the time when budgets have been tightened and many security sources keep telling us they have lots of problems to track for incident -- for instance the so-called jihadists. they are coming back and they probably need to be checked and possibly tracked, and there are not enough means to do that. this is really a very difficult situation for the authorities. >> just to add one thing about what mark was just saying about the questions that will be asked about this -- i think what is very significant is that the

attack appeared to be a lone wolf attack. we have been talking about sydney and elsewhere and into loose -- and in two loose. it clearly was multiple attackers. they had a getaway car ready. they had pretty sophisticated weapons, according to the reports in the video -- according to the reports and the video circulating now. how did they communicate? how was the chatter not picked up? if this signals a return to a more organized sort of professional terrorism, then obviously that will raise huge questions about how security forces can keep track of that. while they have been focused on this phenomenon of the loanable. already not knowing how to deal with that. >> we are also hearing, talking about the security plan at

charlie hebdo, being boost to its highest level -- how does this affect media offices and transportation? lets he would france will land had to say earlier today -- let's see what francois hollande had to say earlier today. >> there are at this moment 11 people dead, four in critical condition. we still do not have a definitive number of the victims, but people have been protected. 40 people. >> mark, talk us through what president hollande has been doing in the recent weeks and months to prevent this kind of thing from happening. >> good morning.

obviously you do not want to terrify your population, but this is saying that the terrorist threat is here. the prime minister a few weeks ago saying that we are facing the worst -- some critics are saying they are playing the politics of fear, but clearly it shows they did not play. they knew that there were plots that were derailed in the final stages and said they probably knew this would be coming. the french threat is obviously -- has been very tough, probably tougher, some would say, on some foreign crises than domestic issues sending press -- sending french troops to mali, and iraq. clearly there were instances where the president in somalia -- he has been very forceful, although his public

pronouncement, against extremism. he knew that france was exposed and there have been, for example, a number of french hostages taken over the years. the last one was freed only recently and was seen as a rare success for francois hollande. but clearly he knew that there was a terror threat. now he's faced with a terror attack in the heart of paris. there will probably be some national rallying against the flag and things like that. he will also face probably criticism because people are saying, why is france going to war in all of those places and paying the price in blood in the middle of paris? there will be probably some solidarity with the french president, but also some criticism, especially if there

were lapses in the security services related to the attack. >> we're getting images of what happened today during the shooting. let's take a look and a listen to those now. i do not have any sound. all right, some amateur pictures we were just getting there. charlie hebdo, a weekly magazine. its headquarters under attack today. multiple gunmen went into the headquarters wearing masks. witnesses say there were up to 30 shots, and then those gunmen fled on two cars. let's listen to those images. >> no, no, no -- [shouting]

[gunfire] [shouting in native language] >> those latest images you were looking at a moment ago were shot by our sister channel france 3 television there. at the french offices of charlie

hebdo, the satirical magazine which was the site of an attack today. gunmen went in to the headquarters of the magazine shooting dead 10 people. they shot 10 more, four of whom are in critical condition. we spoke to one of the witnesses of the attack today. let's listen. sorry, seem to be having some trouble getting sound from that witness. we will get that for you in a few minutes. let's get you live to the scene, where clare murphy is standing by. what is the latest from where you are? >> the horrific sounds on that video can only be told by people here on the scene who say three officers are initially arrived on banks -- on bikes and retreated because of the ferocity of the attack occurring inside the building.

there was obviously a very somber francois hollande addressing the mediator, who said no one can attack freedom. the death toll in this attack could rise further. as you said, these masked men entered the building, and we are left now with confirmation that 11 people so far have died. four people are critically injured. there has been much movement around. the officers here behind me had to go in and searched the grim task at the scene. >> we're just seeing the latest numbers here from french police. 12 people have now been reported dead, including two police officers. talk about the police presence on the scene at the moment. we can see in the latest pictures, any police officers. talk about what is happening with them. >> on the way over here, we

passed through a very well-known landmark, known for its police presence there. rice, france, as mccain poses to the scene. a line of many fire engines getting closer to the scene. the media seem very carefully controlled here, where we have now been closed off to a certain section at the top of the road. some distance away. obviously news has trickled through that security and the threat level has been raised high here as the hunt for the attackers is continuing. >> how are passersby, people who live in the neighborhood, are they talking to anyone, getting other point of view what happened today? >> we are very much just following the press conference

and what the authorities are saying. but there are up once that there are apartments of the offices here -- but there are apartments at the offices here. obviously people would have heard. there were witness accounts to what happened. it is a very built up area obviously a lot of ours and restaurants in the area. it is a very popular spot to socialize, and neighbors will have heard what unfolded here this morning. >> what about the people inside the building? has the building been in vacuum rated -- has the building been evacuated? are there other employees inside? >> the only thing we can go on is that francois hollande says 40 people were saved, meaning 40 people escaped with their lives after the attack. there are many vehicles there, and outside the offices earlier

the white suits have been going in and out and doing their work there at the scene. we are some distance away, so it is hard to see exactly what is occurring. while france want is here, -- while francois hollande is here, he addressed employees, speaking to people, trying to console people here at the scene, and at that stage people are surrounded by armed guards. quite tense here. the attackers have fled, under a lot of shock here. >> thank you so much, clare murphy. i will go back to you later today on "france 24." those gunmen apparently still at large. a manhunt is underway for them. let's speak to a witness of what

happened today at charlie hebdo. >> we had gunfire and then a second shootout. we thought they must be doing a film. it is crazy. we looked from the balcony, and because it was night we looked at his -- we realize when police arrived how bad it was. >> the numbers from the shooting today seem to be between 11 or 12 dead, according to police. two police officers among them. other witnesses reports say the attackers were shouting, "we have avenged the pro phet." perhaps you could talk more about charlie hebdo, what kind of articles it published. >> we are hearing reports that the attackers shouted that the

prophet has been avenged. when they started firing into the journalists, it does not seem to be clear. between the prophet mohammed and this latest attack. how the cartoon controversy dates back to 2008 when charlie hebdo reached international notoriety by reprintingeñaoao