The identities of the three men who were responsible for the Charlier Hebdo massacre are now known after one of the suspects dropped his identity card in the getaway vehicle.

French police identified the suspects as Said Kouachi, 24; Cherif Kouachi, 32; and Harnyd Mourad, 18, reports VOA News. The brothers Kouachi are from Paris, while Mourad comes from Reims, a French city in the northeast. Cherif is linked to an Iraqi jihadist group that operates outside of France.

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News.com.au reports that Mourad has surrendered to authorities, while the Mourad brother were cornered at a property in Reims. Le Point, a French magazine, said the two returned to France last month from Syria.

The shooting spree, which French President Francois Hollande said was a terrorist attack, killed 12 people, two of whom are police officers.

The gunmen killed Charlie Hebdo co-founder Jean "Cabu" Cabut and Stephen "Charb" Charonnier, the editor-in-chief. Hollande, however, stressed that "no act of barbarity will ever extinguish freedom of the press."

The massacre is seen as jihadists' way of avenging the newspaper's ridiculing the Prophet Muhammed through its satirical articles and cartoons. They were heard shouting "Allahu akbar" while firing their weapons, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

It triggered fears of more attacks, prompting the French government to declare the highest level of alert and boosted security measures at transportation facilities, sites for worship, media outlets and shopping malls.

Hollande said the threat to the country comes from its being a free country and having a free press. He vowed to fight the threats and punish those taking away that freedom.

The president also declared Thursday, January 9, a day of national mourning. At 12 noon, all public services will hold a moment of contemplation.

Even Muslim groups in France condemned the massacre.

"I am extremely angry. These are criminals, barbarians. They have sold their soul to hell," said Drancy mosque imam Hassen Chalghoumi. "This is not freedom. This is not Islam, and I hope the French will come out united at the end of this."

TagsCharlie Hebdo, Paris shooting, Paris Magazine massacre, Al-qaeda, terror attack