Several Paris police officers who came into contact with the armed terrorists who slaughtered 10 journalists at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, retreated from the gunmen because they were unarmed, according to an eyewitness.
“Three policemen had arrived on bikes but had to leave because the men were armed, obviously,” Benoit Bringer, who works on the same floor as Charlie Hebdo’s offices, told France Info radio, according to The Guardian. “Then the attackers took off in a car.”
CBS News also reported — citing a reporter with Britain’s Telegraph newspaper — that the two officers were apparently unarmed.
Paris police officers have the option of carrying firearms, though many choose not to.
The officers came into contact with two or three gunmen armed with AK-47s after the Islamic terrorists had left the offices of Charlie Hebdo where they had fatally shot 10 inside the building, including four of the magazine’s cartoonists.
The terrorists — who were heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” while firing rounds in the streets of Paris and reportedly told witnesses that they were affiliated with al-Qaida — were reportedly angry at cartoons appearing in the magazine which satirized Muhammad.
Though the full timeline of the shootings is unclear, it appears that the gunmen killed two police officers after their initial confrontation with the bike cops.
Video shows the gunmen hunting down one police officer on the sidewalk following the shooting inside Charlie Hebdo’s offices. The officer is seen pleading for his life as the gunman approaches and shoots him in the head at point-blank range.
WARNING: GRAPHIC
It is unclear if civilians sustained injuries during the street shooting. The gunmen are reportedly still on the loose.
