PARIS, Nov. 13 (UPI/Gephardt Daily) — An elaborate and coordinated terrorist attack struck in the heart of France on Friday evening — with more than 150 people shot one by one at a concert hall, with gunfire and explosions killing and wounding dozens more elsewhere, officials and witnesses said.
Gunmen started shooting in downtown Paris about 9:30 p.m. local time, which was coordinated with multiple explosions near the national stadium, Stade de France, just north of the city in Saint-Denis.
Attackers also took about 100 people hostage at the city’s Bataclan concert hall, police said. Some of the hostages were freed early Saturday morning but news reports say dozens died inside the venue.
Those numbers do not include the dozens killed in the gunfire and explosions outside the music hall.
Witnesses say when police closed in on attackers, they blew themselves with suicide vests.
Police in Paris say five attackers have been “neutralized.”
French President Francois Hollande called the attacks “unprecedented” — an assessment Klugman echoed in his remarks.
“We are facing an unknown and historic situation in Paris,” he said.
“It was a bloodbath,” radio reporter Julien Pearce, who was inside the Bataclan, said.
Officials later confirmed that three gunmen had taken over the concert hall, and that at least one had been killed. Some reports also indicated that police officials believe at least one of the explosions was a suicide bombing.
French journalist Mathieu Cavada tweeted that at least four police officers were killed inside the Bataclan when two terrorists set off explosives strapped to their bodies.
Germany and France were playing a soccer match at the soccer stadium at the time of the blasts, where Hollande was also in attendance. He was unharmed and left the stadium to assist in the emergency response.
Audio of one explosion can be heard on the broadcast of the game, which was posted to Vine.
Hollande later declared a state of emergency and announced that France’s international borders would be closed until further notice.
“As I speak, terrorist attacks of an unprecedented scale are taking place in the Paris region,” he said in a nationally televised address late Friday. “There are several dozen dead, lots more wounded, it’s horrific.”
A lockdown and curfew were also issued for France’s capital city as police searched for the attackers and tended to victims.
One of the shootings reportedly occurred at the Cambroge restaurant. Photographs from France 2 TV employee Vincent Berthézène showed bullet damage to a window and emergency personnel surrounding the scene.
The status of the gunman or gunmen was not initially clear. Some witnesses said they saw two men emerge from a parked car and open fire before getting back in the car and leaving moments later.
“There are a lot of dead people. It’s pretty horrific to be honest … The pile of bodies in front was too much for my wife to walk over,” witness Ben Grant told BBC News.
U.S. President Barack Obama immediately responded to the attacks, saying they amount to a devastating blow to all people.
“Once again we’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. This is an attack not just on Paris. It’s an attack not just on the people of France. But this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share,” he said, pledging support to a nation he called the United States’ oldest ally.
Obama had called Hollande earlier Friday to discuss the forthcoming climate change conference in Paris.
Secretary of State John Kerry echoed Obama’s sentiments.
“These are heinous, evil, vile acts,” he said. “Those of us who can must do everything in our power to fight back against what can only be considered an assault on our common humanity.”
“I am shocked by events in Paris tonight,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.”
No one had claimed responsibility for the attacks late Friday.
This is a developing story
