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Chicagoans Line Up For Chance To Buy A Copy Of Charlie Hebdo

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A dozen copies of Charlie Hebdo, the French magazine at the center of a terrorist attack in Paris, were quickly snatched up Friday morning, but more were on the way next week.

People lined up before dawn Friday at the Chicago-Main Newsstand in Evanston, to buy a copy of the controversial satirical magazine, which frequently publishes cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Earlier this month, terrorists attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, killing 12 people. The gunmen, who identified themselves as members of Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, took responsibility for the attack, in apparent retaliation for the magazine publishing cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

A special "survivors issue," featuring a cartoon of Muhammad holding a sign reading "Je Suis Charlie," the slogan adopted by free speech activists after the terrorist attack, has become a popular collector's item.

The paper typically publishes about 60,000 copies, but already has printed and sold more than 3 million copies of the "survivors issue."

Only six copies of the magazine were available at Chicago-Main in Evanston when it opened at 7 a.m., and they sold out quickly. Another six were sold at the City Newsstand and City News Café in the Old Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. Both stores are owned by City Newsstand, which tried to get more copies of Charlie Hebdo, but only about 300 copies of the magazine were available in the U.S. this week.

Owner Eric Ismond said the newsstand gets calls all the time about the magazine.

"It's huge. We're getting calls all day, every day, from people who are looking for a copy of this," he said.

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Those who came out Friday knew they'd have to get up early to buy a copy.

"It's an important item in current events. It's unique. It's a collector's item. It's something that I want to have a copy of," said Jerry Rappaz.

Adrienne Sioux Kooper-Smith said, "I believe it's everybody's right, whether you're a reporter, whether you're an artist, whatever you do, to be able to live in a country where we have all of our freedoms like this. So this is well worth it."

The newsstands expect to get about 200 more copies each by next Friday. As of 11 a.m., about 150 people already had signed up on a waiting list at the Evanston newsstand.

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