( CNN ) Social media users expressed solidarity with satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo after terrorists targeted its office in Paris on Wednesday , killing 12 people . Using the hashtage # JeSuisCharlie , many on Twitter replaced their profile photo with a white-on-black image of the phrase , which translates to `` I am Charlie . '' It 's the phrase that appeared on the Charlie Hebdo website , which linked to a file showing the same phrase repeated in several languages . Cartoonists and other artists tweeted images that summed up the outrage felt over the attack . One , by The Canberra Times ' political cartoonist David Pope , shows a smoking gun , with a gunmen saying , `` He drew first . '' Pope said he sketched the image at 2 a.m. before he went to bed . `` I was trying to express an emotional response , '' he told CNN . `` I 'm not trying to make a cheap joke out of it , just trying to express something that hopefully other people are also feeling . '' He said the rights of cartoonists must be defended . `` As a cartoonist you are always pushing that line and they pushed it very hard . ( But ) nothing justified the violent events that happened last night . '' It was shared tens of thousands of times , as were others that depicted the strength of the pencil versus the gun . Matt Davies , cartoonist for Newsday , expressed shock that anyone would be motivated enough to kill over a cartoon . His image , penned after the attack , showed a confused gunman holding a pencil and asking , `` Where 's the trigger ? '' `` Cartoons are supposed to be offensive , sometimes . And people roll with it . You look at a cartoon , and you say `` that 's offensive '' and you write a letter to the editor , '' he told CNN . He said the attack caused `` a moment of pause '' but said he did n't think that political cartoonists would become less satirical in response . As the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists condemned what it called a `` revolting act of violence , '' cartoonists around the world did what they do best to show that would not be cowed . Among the messages of defiance , were images of grief . This one was posted by Patrick Chappatte from the International New York Times , in memory of his colleagues and friends at Charlie Hebdo . Magnus Shaw , a copywriter and blogger , tweeted an original Charles M Schulz image of Charlie Brown , his head in his hands , sitting on a park bench . Above , he added the words `` Je Suis Charlie . '' `` At around 4pm on Wednesday , I tweeted this image . Then it all went a bit nuts ... '' Shaw wrote on his blog . He later tweeted : `` Charles M Schulz , wherever you are , I hope I did n't let you down . '' An old New Yorker cartoon is recirculating of a blank page that the cartoonist captioned : `` Please enjoy this culturally , ethically , religiously and politically correct cartoon responsibly . Thank you . '' An image released by cartoonist MacLeod comments on the power of a simple picture . In India , cartoonist Shreyas Navare drew a tribute from Quartz India to the victims of the attack , showing a cup holding pens outweighing the threats from assorted weaponry . And in the United Kingdom , the Telegraph 's cartoonist , Matt , showed one gunman saying to the other , `` Be careful , they might have pens . '' People around the world tweeted their response to the killings , including expressions of support for free speech and the need to maintain the humor that some found offensive enough to kill . `` Terrorising people to not tell jokes . Killing people for telling jokes . More important than ever to keep joking . # Solidarite # JeSuisCharlie , '' read one tweet from Malaysia . `` Guns run out of bullets . Journalists will not run out of words . # JeSuisCharlie , '' read another tweet . Twitter was also used to call people to join in rallies in support of the victims throughout France on Wednesday evening . Jessica HammoutÃ¨ne sent CNN an iReport from a vigil in Lille , France . Journalists around the world expressed their sympathy and alliance with the principles Charlie Hebdo represents . One photo showed a newsroom of journalists at Agence France Presse in Paris holding signs that read `` Je suis Charlie . '' Another showed journalists at French publication Le Figaro holding copies of Charlie Hebdo covers . Instagram was also buzzing with shows of support for the magazine . BÃ©nÃ©dicte Huot , who lives in La Seyne-sur-Mer , France , shared a tribute as part of the JeSuisCharlie movement on the site . `` Today , liberty is very fragile , but for me liberty is the one , '' he said . Some tweeted `` JeSuisCharlie '' with photos of four of the victims , cartoonists for the magazine . A small number of users wrote in support of the mass killings . One called it a defense of his religion . Another wrote it was a response to cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed and said people could n't remain silent . They used the hashtags that CNN translated to # We_Avenged_the_Prophet _of_God and # Paris_Is_Burning . CNN 's Samira Said contributed to this report .
Hundreds of thousands tweet # JeSuisCharlie and Charlie Hebdo publishes the same phrase on its website . Others are tweeting support by posting cartoons ; one shows someone saying , ` ` He shoots first ''