This story is still developing but here is what we know: a string of terrorist attacks have hit Paris this evening with at least 18 dead, with some outlets reporting as many as 30 dead. There is a hostage situation at a Paris concert venue, Bataclan, where the Eagles of Death Metal played a sold out show. The terrorists reportedly have 100 people held hostage (originally reported as 60). There are six to eight attackers inside the venue currently engaged in a shootout with police.
Gawker reports:
According to reports, “several people were killed and seven others injured” during a shootout by a man reportedly armed with an AK-47 inside a Paris restaurant in the tenth arrondissement. And according to the BBC, a reporter saw at least another ten people lying dead or seriously injured after a separate shooting at a restaurant called Cambodge in the 11th district.
CNN reports hostages from Bataclan telling them that “terrorists calmly executed hostages, reloaded, executed again in silence.”
A French news reporter is live-tweeting from the scene:
Two people at the concert when the shoot out happened escaped in clothes stained in the blood of people who were hit around them #Paris
— Sruthi Gottipati (@GoSruthi) November 13, 2015
People being evacuated from #Bataclan #Paris pic.twitter.com/webcauinjF
— Sruthi Gottipati (@GoSruthi) November 13, 2015
"We heard like what seemed like firecrackers from behind us" at the rock concert where the attack took place, says #Paris man who escaped
— Sruthi Gottipati (@GoSruthi) November 13, 2015
"People started to crouch down and start screaming. We were trying to hide," says Jêrome B at the Rock concert that was attacked.
— Sruthi Gottipati (@GoSruthi) November 13, 2015
Update: French band Red Lemons are saying that the Eagles of Death Metal members got out of the club safely.
Pour rassurer les personnes qui nous savaient au concert des Eagles of death metal au bataclan, il y a eu un attentat,…
Posted by Red Lemons on Friday, November 13, 2015
Update 6:40pm EST: Police are raiding the venue. CNN is reporting, according to an eyewitness, that police have already evacuated over 100 people from the building, but there are still over 20 hostages on the main floor with two terrorists. A third terrorist has reportedly been shot.
Update 6:57pm EST: The raid is over and the two remaining gunmen have been killed. Reuters says one gunman reportedly had an automatic rifle and the other had explosives. There will be no more civilian casualties. Eagles of Death Metal posted a statement saying they are unsure of the safety of their crew members.
Update 7:26pm EST: Police are saying as many as 100 dead inside Bataclan, the venue of the attack.
Update 8:55pm EST: Tool and Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan revealed that Eagles of Death Metal member Matt McJunkins (who also plays with Puscifer) was at one point a hostage:
Good news. Just confirmed our friend @mattmcjunkins of @puscifer @aperfectcircle & @EODMofficial was a hostage but is officially safe.
— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) November 14, 2015
Eagles Of Death Metal drummer Julian Dorio‘s brother, Michael Dorio, spoke to ABC7 and offered this account:
“He said they were playing, about six songs into the show, and they heard, before they saw anything, they heard automatic machine gunfire. And it was so loud, it was louder than the band, and they all hit the stage floor. And as they got up to try to evacuate they saw men with machine guns just shooting anything and everything in the venue. Fifteen hundred people, Julian said, was about the capacity of the venue. I don’t know if it was seated or standing but Julian, the lead singer and some of the crew, there was a door back of the stage that led to a street and they flew out the back door.”
RELATED: New Details & Shocking Footage Emerge From Bataclan Theater Terrorist Attack
There are reports that three separate "explosions" could be heard in the French soccer stadium, where French President François Hollande was watching a French-German match. He was quickly evacuated. You can hear a supposed explosion that happening during the game in this Vine video:
https://vine.co/v/iBb2x00UVlv
Eagles of Death Metal is a collaboration between Jesse Hughes and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. Homme is not currently on tour with the band. It is unknown if any members of the band are being held hostage at the moment.
This is a developing story and we'll keep you posted with any more info.
Police are saying about 60 people are being held hostage inside the Bataclan theater https://t.co/kwL1Fjb52s pic.twitter.com/g1TEh5tzD1
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 13, 2015
Video: aftermath #explosion #Paris #StadedeFrance (@maybachmsc) https://t.co/Khj3Kv3uFN
— Russian Market (@russian_market) November 13, 2015
#BREAKING Hostages taken at Paris Bataclan concert hall, police say
— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 13, 2015
