Charlie Hebdo shooting suspect defended by classmates on Twitter

‘Classmates of an 18-year-old accused of being the getaway driver in the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris on Wednesday have defended him on Twitter, saying he was in class when masked gunmen opened fire.

Mourad Hamyd turned himself in to police in his home town of Charleville-Mézières, near the Belgian border, after he was named as one of three suspects in the attack, which killed 12, and saw his name on social media.

Soon afterwards, people claiming to be his classmates started tweeting under the hashtag #MouradHamydInnocent. “He’s in my class, and he was there for lessons this morning,” wrote @babydroma. Her account has been active since 2012, and before Wednesday was full of chatter about teachers and lessons, with a picture of film star James Franco as wallpaper.’

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