Tree Planting At Griffith Park Honors Charlie Hebdo Attack Victims

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — City officials in partnership with a French government official planted trees Thursday in Griffith Park in honor of the 17 victims killed in a Paris terrorist attack earlier this year.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge and his staff will be joined by the Consul General of France Axel Cruau at the Bird Sanctuary to plant 17 trees in remembrance of each victim killed in attacks at the Charlie Hebdo Newspaper and a kosher grocery store between Jan. 7-9.

Immediately following the attacks, Councilmember LaBonge joined the French Consul General, elected officials, rabbis, religious leaders and hundreds of Angelenos outside of Los Angeles City Hall to pay tribute to the victims.

"Since the attacks, thousands in France have gathered through true symbolic demonstrations calling for peace and unity," said LaBonge in a statement. "This tragedy not only brought people together in France, but also throughout the world, including Los Angeles."

In response to a question about the crash of a Germanwings airliner into the French Alps, Cruau said it was important for the international community to wait for the investigation before jumping to conclusions.

"We are looking for the truth in what really happened, and I'm confident in the next few hours and days, we'll know exactly what happened," he said.