The masked gunmen who attacked the office of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo managed to escape using hijacked cars.
After shooting journalists inside the office, the gunmen took to the streets outside, where they stole a car to use as their getaway vehicle
Photos posted on Twitter by journalists at the scene show multiple bullet holes in the windshield of a police car.
Voiture de police cible tirs bvd richard Lenoir #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/1CvlyEAYUP
— William Molinié (@WilliamMolinie) January 7, 2015
A graphic video posted, and later deleted, on Facebook by a witness showed the gunmen shooting and killing a police officer.
The video then shows two gunmen driving away relatively slowly — not at speed. That would have helped the men in the car blend in with the rest of the traffic in France.
Les tireurs ont abandonné leur voiture dans le 19ème, ils ont pris la fuite à pied. #charliehebdo pic.twitter.com/X3TyeMswTA
— Hugo Clément (@hugoclement) January 7, 2015
After driving away from the scene, the two gunmen then exited their getaway car, leaving it in the middle of a junction in the 20th Arrondissement. The gunmen walked a few metres, France 2 reporter Hugo Clément reports, before pointing their weapons at a female driver and stealing her car. Police at the scene claimed not to have found any weapons inside the car, indicating that they are still heavily armed.
La voiture des tireurs a le pare brise arrière brisé. #Charliehebdo pic.twitter.com/FnIuoyxZz9
— Hugo Clément (@hugoclement) January 7, 2015
This annotated map shows the approximate route taken by the attackers as they made their getaway:
Sky News is reporting that French police claim they are hunting three gunmen, not two. If so, it appears that they may have split up after the attack, which would have helped them evade the police.
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