Paris: Knife attack outside former Charlie Hebdo offices, two seriously injured

(Patria) – Two people were seriously injured in a knife attack on Friday in Paris, near the former offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Two people were arrested around 3:00 PM for their connection to the attack, which authorities claim has an 'Islamist-terrorist' connotation.

Jean-François Ricard, the state prosecutor for terrorism cases, reported that one of the arrested individuals is believed to be behind the attack, while the other was detained to determine their connection to the suspected attacker.

- Given the location of the attack – in front of the building where Charlie Hebdo's editorial office used to be – the timing of the attack, and other facts, the perpetrator's clear intention to kill two people can be confirmed, Ricard explained.

An investigation into 'attempted assassination linked to a terrorist group' and 'criminal terrorist association' has been opened.

Slightly later that day, 5 more people were arrested for their connection to the attack.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex reported that the victims of the attack are out of danger.

The victims of the attack – two young journalists – work for the production company Premières Lignes, whose offices are located in the same building where the former editorial office of Charlie Hebdo magazine was situated.

As a reminder, that same editorial office was the scene of an attack in January 2015 in which 12 people lost their lives, including a number of the magazine's staff. The trial against 14 people connected to the attack and multiple murders is still ongoing.

Given that the motive for Friday's attack has not yet been confirmed, its connection to the 2015 attack is uncertain.

Prime Minister Castex, who visited the scene of the attack along with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, sent a message of solidarity to the victims' families, as well as to the journalists' colleagues, and affirmed the 'unwavering commitment to freedom of the press and the fight against terrorism'.

Interior Minister Darmanin stated slightly later in an interview with TV France 2 that France is 'still at war with Islamist terrorists'. He explained that terrorism is in a state of mutation because 'what our forces are doing to destroy ISIL is reducing it, but it is not capable of completely preventing what we call planned attacks that are organized from abroad'.

- It is clear that isolated individuals are carrying out terrorist attacks in the name of radical Islam, and we must fight against them, Darmanin added, emphasizing that the intelligence service has prevented as many as 32 terrorist attacks in three years, Euronews reports.