French Police Discourage Rumors Amid Reports Suspects Have Been Spotted

A heavily armed police officer guards the General Directorate for Internal Security headquarters, seen behind, in Levallois Perret, outside Paris, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Two brothers are suddenly the most wanted men... A heavily armed police officer guards the General Directorate for Internal Security headquarters, seen behind, in Levallois Perret, outside Paris, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Two brothers are suddenly the most wanted men in France, suspected of the armed onslaught on a newspaper office that claimed a dozen lives and horrified this country and much of the world. Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, became the targets of a mammoth manhunt following Wednesday's murderous attack at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) MORE LESS

By Catherine Thompson

January 8, 2015 9:25 a.m.

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French police on Thursday asked people not to spread rumors or unverified information as they hunted for two at-large suspects in Wednesday’s deadly terror attack on the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

France’s national police tweeted that doing so would hinder their work, according to the New York Times. They also asked that people only share information from authorities’ accounts on the social network:

[#CharlieHebdo] Ne perturbez pas le travail des policiers enquêteurs en diffusant de fausses informations ou #rumeurs

— Police Nationale (@PNationale) January 8, 2015

[#CharlieHebdo] Ne relayez que les informations officielles communiquées par les autorités (@PNationale @Place_Beauvau @prefpolice …)

— Police Nationale (@PNationale) January 8, 2015

[#CharlieHebdo] Ne contribuez pas à la diffusion de photos/vidéos/comptes malveillants
Ne les PARTAGEZ pas
Ne les LIKEZ pas
Ne les RT pas

— Police Nationale (@PNationale) January 8, 2015

The warning came after unconfirmed reports that the two suspects were spotted at a gas station in northern France.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi were identified late Wednesday as suspects in the attack. A third suspect, 18-year-old Mourad Hamyd, turned himself in at a police station in the eastern region of France.

As of Thursday morning, there were no official or confirmed reports on the Kouachi brothers’ whereabouts.

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Catherine Thompson (@kt_thomps) Catherine Thompson is a senior editor for Talking Points Memo in New York City. She came to the site in 2013 and reported on national affairs. Previously, she worked as a research assistant to investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. She can be reached at catherine@talkingpointsmemo.com.

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