When French anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Louis Bruguiere first clapped eyes on Cherif Kouachi 10 years ago, his first impression was that he was a "small fry."

His second impression: the man was a killer.

With Kouachi, 32, now targeted in one of France's biggest manhunts as a suspect in the Charlie Hebdo massacres, Bruguiere's second premonition may prove to have been correct.