Paris Hit by Bombings and Shootings, At Least 127 Dead

Paris was gripped by terror on Friday night, as gunmen simultaneously attacked six locations, with shootings and explosions leaving at least 127 people confirmed dead, according to France’s President Francois Hollande. A siege at a packed concert hall, that left many dead, ended around 1am Paris time after more than 100 hostages were evacuated by police. Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility.

The attacks occurred at six locations, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, including a packed sports stadium, two restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall, which is in an area close to where the Charlie Hebdo attacks happened in January this year and which left the city and country reeling.

A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor was reported as saying that eight extremists are dead after the attacks, seven of them killed in suicide bombings, although it was possible there were others still at large.

Witnesses on French television said the scene at the concert hall, which can seat as many as 1,500 people, was a massacre, describing how gunmen with automatic weapons shot bursts of bullets into the crowd.

Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman said that at least 118 people died in the concert hall, although the latest figure is 112.

Paris officials have put the total number of dead – so far – at 127 with 180 injured of which at least 80 are in a critical condition.

“We are going to try and determine what happened, determine what the profiles of these terrorists are, find out what their course of action was, find out if there are still accomplices or co-attackers,” Paris prosecutor Molins told reporters.

Three explosions occurred outside the Stade de France, where France’s national football team was playing in a match against Germany. The game continued for a while before it was stopped as there was confusion about what had happened.

President Hollande was present at the match. He was then transferred to the centre of Paris where he attended an emergency meeting before announcing that a state of emergency will be decreed, travel will be restricted and France’s borders will be closed to ensure nobody can enter.

In a televised broadcast, Hollande said the French people needed to show unity, keep their cool front and each be responsible. He said the “terrorists want to seize us with fear”, but that again, the nation needed to mobilise itself and overcome these terrorists. “Long live the Republic, long live France.” The President then called a full cabinet meeting in the middle of the night.

An American rock band (Eagles of Death Metal) was performing at the concert hall where the hostages were being held by several attackers.

One eyewitness – Julian Pearce, a radio journalist – who managed to find an exit said he saw at least 25 bodies. He saw three attackers. He said one was maximum 25 and looked like a “random guy”. They were wearing black and were not masked. He said they didn’t shout or yell anything. “They said nothing, they just shot,” he said.

According to a BBC journalist, who was at the Cambodian Petit Cambodge restaurant when a gunman opened fire, he saw at least 10 people lying in the road killed or injured.

There is no confirmation yet from the French government that this was a planned terrorist attack. News reports on CNN TV claimed that an Arabic celebratory hashtag is being tweeted.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.”

US President Obama said the attacks were an “outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians” and that this is not just an attack on Paris and France but is an attack on “all of humanity and the universal values we share”. He extended his condolences to those affected and said this is a “heartbreaking situation”. Obama said France is America’s “oldest ally” and the country will have the US’s full support.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who was about to embark on the first visit by an Iranian president in a decade to Europe (to Italy and France) has postponed his trip and called the attacks “crimes against humanity.”

President Hollande has declared three days of mourning in France, and has declared that France will be “merciless towards the barbarous IS group.”

This story has been updated.