A gunman, said to be between 40 and 45, shaven-headed and overweight, attacked the offices of the newspaper "Libération" and fired outside the headquarters of the Societe Generale bank in Paris, France on Monday, BBC News reported. A manhunt is underway throughout Paris to apprehend the gunman who critically injured a 27-year-old described as a freelance assistant photographer who recently joined the newspaper, news reports said.
The gunman entered the Paris offices of "Libération," near the Place de la Republicque in the east of the city on Monday morning at about 10:15 where he opened fire, before shooting the photographer in the chest and stomach at the office, BBC News also reported. The gunman did not say a word before escaping, news reports said. The photographer is reportedly in critical condition.
"In a democracy, when someone enters a newspaper office with a gun, this is very, very serious, whatever the person's mental state," said Libération's publisher Nicolas Demorand.
The bank Societe Generale confirmed two hours later that a man opened fire outside its headquarters. No one was injured in the attack, according to a spokesman at the bank.
"One witness of the bank shooting told Le Figaro that he heard a large bang and saw a man wearing a khaki coat and a cap and carrying a shotgun," BBC News also reported.
The gunman then reportedly hijacked a car in Nantarre, forcing the driver to take him to the Champs Elysees. He was dropped near the George V metro station, news reports said.[French media said that he told the motorist he was armed with grenades].
"Police are looking for the same man who broke into the Paris offices of the 24-hour news channel BFMTV on Friday," BBC News also reported.
Police were stationed outside all main media offices in Paris. While the manhunt is underway, authorities speculated that he may have gone into the metro. There were fears that he may have been headed toward the Eiffel Tower, news reports said.
French President Francis Hollande told Interior Minister Manual Valls to "mobilize every means to stop whoever was responsible for the attacks," underscoring that the manhunt is a city-wide effort to apprehend the gunman.
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