Paris Hostage Crises Over: 3 Suspects Killed, 1 on the Run; Hostages Freed After Intense Standoff

By Sami K. Martin, Christian Post Reporter Friday, January 09, 2015

Smoke is seen at left as French police special forces launch their assault at a kosher supermarket (seen at rear) where several people were taken hostage near the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris, January 9, 2015, following Wednesday's deadly attack at the Paris offices of weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo by two masked gunmen who shouted Islamist slogans. Several people were taken hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday after a shootout involving a man armed with two guns, a police source said. There were unconfirmed local media reports that the man was the same as the one suspected of killing a policewoman in Montrouge, a southern suburb of Paris on Thursday.

French intervention police take up position near the scene of a hostage taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, January 9, 2015, following Wednesday's deadly attack at the Paris offices of weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo by two masked gunmen who shouted Islamist slogans. Several people were taken hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday after a shootout involving a man armed with two guns, a police source said. There were unconfirmed local media reports that the man was the same as the one suspected of killing a policewoman in Montrouge, a southern suburb of Paris on Thursday.

French gendarmes stand guard as school children board a bus as they are evacuated near the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris January 9, 2015. The two main suspects in the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo killings were sighted on Friday in the northern French town of Dammartin-en-Goele where at least one person had been taken hostage, a police source said.

French police forcibly stop at gun point young people on a scooter as they arrive near the scene of a hostage taking at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris January 9, 2015. Several people were taken hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday after a shootout involving a man armed with two guns, a police source said. There were unconfirmed local media reports that the man was the same as the one suspected of killing a policewoman in a southern suburb of Paris on Thursday. A police source had told Reuters earlier he was a member of the same jihadist group as the two suspects in Wednesday's attack at weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

French soldier patrol near the Eiffel Tower in Paris as part of the highest level of 'Vigipirate' security plan after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, January 9, 2015. The two main suspects in the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo killings were sighted on Friday in the northern French town of Dammartin-en-Goele where at least one person had been taken hostage, a police source said.

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UPDATE: 4:30 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2015

French President Francois Hollande confirmed in his speech to the nation Friday that four hostages died inside the Paris Kosher supermarket that was attacked by gunman Amedy Coulibaly, 32, who was also killed. Although 12 hostages were freed from the supermarket it's also believed that Coulibaly's girlfriend and accomplice, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, escaped the building either with the hostages or before they were released.

Terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo where 12 people were killed. The two men responsible for the attack, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, were killed during a shootout with police on Friday at a large printing warehouse northeast of Paris.

Helicopters with French intervention forces hover above the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, January 9, 2015. The two main suspects in the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo killings were sighted on Friday in the northern French town of Dammartin-en-Goele where at least one person had been taken hostage, a police source said. | (Photo: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol)

The men allegedly responsible for the deaths of 12 people earlier this week in Paris, France, have been killed after a standoff with police, while hostages have been evacuated from a grocery store in another hostage situation.

Otis Mayor Bernard Corneille confirmed the deaths of brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, who reportedly killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office on Wednesday. They were engaged in a standoff just outside Paris and had taken a woman hostage before being killed by officials. The brothers had previously told authorities that they wanted to "die as martyrs" for the cause of Islam. The hostage was released and reported safe by officials.

Meanwhile, in eastern Paris, the suspects wanted in relation to the murder of a French police officer have released hostages held at a grocery store. Gunman Amedy Coulibaly and his girlfriend, Hayat Boumeddiene, took several people hostage, two of which are confimed dead. And there are unconfirmed reports that Coulibaly and Boumeddiene have been killed by police, but this report has yet to be confirmed as authorities suspect Boumeddiene escaped or was never at the scene.

While the four suspects might've been working together, authorities haven't confirmed if the attacks are linked to the same terrorist organization. Before he was killed, Coulibaly told police that he wasn't going to release any of the grocery store hostages until the Kouachi brothers were released and safe.

The Kouachi brothers fled to the outskirts of Paris after reportedly killling journalists at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office on Wednesday. They ran through the streets with machine guns, yelling, "Allahu Akbar" and "We have avenged the prophet." While the motive for the attack is unknown, many have speculated that the Kouachi brothers were upset by political cartoons and depictions of the prophet Muhammad, which is forbidden in Islam.

While it's unclear whether the four suspects worked in tandem to carry out the attacks this week, it is clear they knew of one another's actions.