Kosher market shooting suspects charged
January 21, 2015
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said on Wednesday that the four suspects have been charged with association with terrorism. Specifically, they are believed to have given logistical support by providing equipment to the gunman, Amedy Coulibaly.
The charges are the first to be brought in connection with the kosher supermarket shooting that killed four and the attack on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
Molins said the men were aged between 22 and 28 and three had criminal records. DNA traces of one of the men are reported to have been found on the weapon Coulibaly used in the supermarket attack. The suspects are currently being held by police.
Coulibaly was killed during the standoff with police at the kosher supermarket on January 9. A man from Mali who worked at the store and played a key role in rescuing several hostages and helping police end the siege was granted French citizenship on Tuesday. It is believed Coulibaly had ties to the two men who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack, but there is no indication that the four men in police custody were specifically tied to the shooting at the magazine's offices.
In addition to the supermarket shooting, Coulibaly shot and killed a policewoman the day before taking the hostages at the kosher market.
mz/sms (AFP, dpa, AP)