Two people severely injured in a knife attack outside the former Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo are staff at production company Premieres Lignes, which made HBO documentary “Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks.”
Variety has confirmed with Premieres Lignes co-director Paul Moreira that two of the company’s producers were involved in the attack.
Premieres Lignes in 2015 produced the film “Three Days of Terror” with “Leaving Neverland” helmer Dan Reed. The film aired on HBO, the BBC and France 2, and was nominated for two 2017 News & Documentary Emmy Awards, including outstanding investigative documentary and research. The company’s offices are believed to be in close proximity to the former Charlie Hebdo offices.
The Associated Press (AP) has reported that police have now arrested what they believe to be a suspect in the incident. The individual was detained near the Bastille plaza in east Paris. Meanwhile, France has opened a terrorism probe into the attack, though a motive for the attack, and whether there is any association with Charlie Hebdo, remains unclear.
The neighborhood around the office was placed in lockdown on Thursday, around midday, while police conducted a manhunt. AP reporters witnessed police “flooding” the east Paris neighborhood. Officials have also reportedly cordoned off the area after a package was noticed close by.
The Charlie Hebdo trial is currently underway in Paris. Fourteen people accused of helping the two attackers — Islamist extremists who killed 12 people in and around the Charlie Hebdo offices in January 2015 — are standing trial.
Following the attacks, the magazine moved offices to a secret location in south Paris in late 2015. The publication marked the start of the trial by reprinting controversial cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad.
Elsa Keslassy contributed to this report.