New York Times editors are scratching their learned, judicious heads. Let’s see. The gunmen screamed “Allahu akbar” and declared, “We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad” as they murdered people in the offices of a publication that had mocked him. What on earth could have been their motivation? Right-wing extremism? A last, desperate response to institutional racism?
“Live Updates on Deadly Shooting at Paris Newspaper,” New York Times, January 7, 2015 (thanks to Bill):
What We Know
• Twelve people were killed
• Three gunmen were said to be involved
• They escaped by car and remained at large
• French officials raised the national terror alert to its highest level
What We Don’t Know• The identities of the individuals or groups responsible for the attack
• All of the victims’ identities, said to include police officers, editors and cartoonists
• The reason Charlie Hebdo was targeted, though its provocative fare has angered Islamic extremist groups in the past