Relatives of Charlie Hebdo Killers Saw No Signs of 'Extremism'

Family members of the Kouachi brothers denied that either brother showed any signs of extremism that would lead to their murder rampage. The Kouachi brothers slaughtered 12 people at the office of France’s weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo last week.

Both the in-laws of Cherif Kouachi and the wife of Said Kouachi – through a lawyer – told ABC News that they learned of the massacre through the media and that it came as a complete surprise, that neither brother came across as radicals with ties to al Qaeda, as French officials have alleged.

“Her world basically collapsed,” lawyer Antoine Flasaquier said of Said’s wife – whom he declined to name – in an interview in his office in the town of Reims. “When she heard that it was for sure [the brothers who carried out the attack] she was shocked.”

Said’s wife said he was acting normally when he left the house earlier that morning. “He just gave her a kiss and left,” said Flasaquier. “She thinks something happened on his way or when he met his brother because she doesn’t understand.”

“Of course, she does not pretend he was not there [at Charlie Hebdo] but she doesn’t understand how he could kill people, how he could kill journalists and how he ended up killing himself [in self-prompted Friday’s shootout with] the police,” he added. “She doesn’t understand.”

The other brother, Cherif Kouachi, was married into the Hamyd family 2008, after he was released from prison. The family claims they did not know about Cherif’s imprisonment.

“We usually talked about sports, that was the most important topic,” said 18 year-old son Mourad Hamyd, initially named as a third suspect along with the brothers last Wednesday night. A few hours later he turned himself in and after being held for two days by police was released after they confirmed that the aspiring medical student had been in class at the time of the attack.

“He dressed in sneakers and sweatpants, he played soccer, he played videogames, he never talked of religion or anything else,” said Mourad Hamyd’s father in broken and accented French. “He was nice, he had a nice smile. This is my daughter who chose him.”