The youngest among the three French nationals who are being hunted down by police for the terrorism attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a weekly magazine known for its satires on Islam and other religions, has surrendered to authorities.
The hooded gunmen raided the offices of the magazine in Paris and killed at least 12 people in what has been deemed the deadliest armed attack in France for decades.
French police are continuing their search for the other two attackers who were responsible for the deaths of some of the top cartoonists in France as well as two policemen before escaping by car.
Among the people killed were Charlie Hebdo co-founder Jean Cabut and editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier.
Authorities have issued documents to police forces within the region, naming the two attackers as brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi. The two were born in 1980 and 1982, respectively, and were identified through an ID that was left in the vehicle used to escape the crime scene.
Cherif Kouachi, according to police, had previous terrorism charges placed upon him, and has served time in prison for 18 months.
The attacker who turned himself in to the police is Hamyd Mourad, who was born in 1996. A Paris prosecutor's office representative revealed that Mourad surrendered in a Charleville-Mézières police station, which is located over 200 kilometers from Paris near the border of Belgium.
Mourad, according to unidentified sources for BFM TV, decided to surrender to authorities after seeing that his name was revealed on social media as one of the attackers.
During the terrorism attack on Charlie Hebdo's building, one of the gunmen was recorded on video outside the structure shouting "Allahu Akbar!" while shots were being fired. One of the other attackers walked to a policeman who was wounded and lying on the street, then shot him using an assault rifle. The two gunmen then went inside a black vehicle and drove away.
Thousands of people took part in impromptu rallies that were held across the country, with the French government's declaration of the highest state of alert. Security had been tightened within religious sites, transport terminals, department stores and media offices, as authorities began to hunt down the criminals.
No terrorist groups have so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, one of the witnesses reportedly heard one of the attackers say "Tell the media that it is al Qaeda in Yemen!"
"Today the French Republic as a whole was the target," said French President Francois Hollande in a TV address. The next day was declared a national day of mourning.
