WASHINGTON >> President Barack Obama is offering help to French officials to pursue terrorists responsible for what he is calling a “horrific shooting” at a satirical weekly newspaper.

In a statement, Obama offered thoughts and prayers for the people of France, which he called “America’s oldest ally.” He says France and Paris, where the attack occurred, will endure beyond “the hateful vision of these killers.”

Masked gunmen stormed the office of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people before escaping. It is France’s deadliest terror attack in at least two decades.

Charlie Hebdo has been repeatedly threatened for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and other controversial sketches.