What happened:

Parisian satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked this morning by unidentifiable gunmen. So far, 12 have been declared dead and eight more are injured. French officials are calling the shooting an act of terror. The suspects have yet to be apprehended.

Why you should care:

Charlie Hebdo has been known to raise unpopular opinions. It regularly attacks important politicians, as well as religious leaders and ideologies.

This is not the first attack on the magazine. In 2011, the office caught on fire the day it was supposed to publish a particularly controversial article.

French president Francois Hollande, Prime Minister of the UK David Cameron and President Barack Obama have publicly condemned the shooting as an attack on free speech.

Free speech and freedom of the press are constitutional rights guaranteed to all Americans. Events like this remind us not to take that for granted.