A man places a candle at a makeshift memorial outside the Consulate General of France during a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of an attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in San Francisco, California.Reuters 
A woman places a drawing and a pen at a makeshift memorial outside the Consulate General of France during a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of an attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in San Francisco, California.Reuters 
Tara Manning, an American who works for a French-American Company, holds a sign as people gather for a vigil outside the Consulate General of France to pay tribute to the victims of an attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in San Francisco, California.Reuters 
A makeshift memorial is seen outside the Consulate General of France during a vigil for the victims of an attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in San Francisco, California.Reuters 
Regis Danon, of France, holds a drawing as he takes part in a vigil outside the Consulate General of France to pay tribute to the victims of the suspected Islamist attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in San Francisco, California.Reuters 
People place pens, pencils and candles around a French flag at a vigil for the victims of the shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, outside the French consulate in Seattle, Washington.Reuters 
People hold up posters, which include Charlie Hebdo Editor Stephane Charbonnier (front), a cartoonist known as Charb, and Jean Cabut (back L), a cartoonist known as Cabu, during a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of a shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in the Manhattan borough of New York.Reuters 
Amandine Marbach from Strasbourg, France, lights a candle as she takes part in a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of a shooting, by gunmen at the offices of weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in the Manhattan borough of New York.Reuters 
People hold prints reading "I am Charlie" during a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of a shooting by gunmen at the offices of weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, at Kennedy Park in Lima.Reuters 
A bullet's impact is seen on a window at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo.Reuters 
Police inspect damage after a collision between police cars at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo.Reuters 
Charlie Hebdo cartoon of ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadytwitter/Charlie Hebdo
In an apparent militant Islamist attack, three gunmen killed 12 people, including the editor, several cartoonists, as well as police officers at the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday.
The attack took place after the magazine tweeted a cartoon featuring ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with a caption "Meilleurs vœux, au fait" that can be translated as "Best wishes, by the way".
Meilleurs vœux, au fait. pic.twitter.com/a2JOhqJZJM
— Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) January 7, 2015
The attackers stormed into the building during the magazine's editorial meeting and started shooting at everybody indiscriminately, killing 12 and leaving at least four critically injured.
People around the world have been paying tributes to the victims of the attack by offering prayers and circulating some powerful cartoons on social media, with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, which means "I Am Charlie".
It has to be noted that the controversial magazine, which was labelled 'anti-religious', was firebombed in 2011, after it published a caricature of Prophet Muhammad.
Meanwhile, French President François Hollande has said that the barbaric act will not end the freedom of press.
He tweeted on Wednesday: "Aucun acte barbare ne saura jamais éteindre la liberté de la presse. Nous sommes un pays unis qui saura réagir et faire bloc", which can be translated as "No barbaric act will ever extinguish the freedom of the press. We are a united country that will react and do block."
