Paris under siege as mass shootings, explosions, hostage situation hit France’s capital

This story is developing and will be updated as more facts become available.

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Dell Cameron

Tech

Posted on Nov 13, 2015   Updated on May 27, 2021, 3:54 pm CDT

At least 129 people have been killed and many more injured in a series of attacks that struck Paris late on Friday.

French officials downgraded the number of people killed from the highest estimate of 153 to 129 by Monday.

In the deadliest of multiple attacks around the French capital, at least 87 people were reportedly killed after being taken hostage at the Bataclan Concert Hall, according to French police.

An unknown number of assailants also opened fire on civilians at two separate restaurants, all located within a mile of each other and the Bataclan.

At least one other shooting was reported within an hour of the first three near the Louvre museum.

Sources tell Agence France-Presse that attacks occurred at seven different locations around Paris.

Five attackers may have been killed in attacks on Paris, reports the AP. No individual or group has so far taken credit for the attacks, which appear to be connected, as of 2am in Paris.

Roughly a mile from one shooting in the 10th arrondissement—one of 20 districts that make up France’s capital—there was one bombing near the Stade de France stadium, prompting the evacuation of President François Hollande from a France-Germany soccer match. 

French police officials have confirmed the bombing near the stadium, as well as two separate suicide attacks, according to the Associated Press.

https://vine.co/v/iBb2x00UVlv

https://twitter.com/Breaking3zero/status/665282134718869504

The hostage situation occurred roughly four miles from the stadium, at the Bataclan Concert Hall, a 19th-century cafe and theater, according to Agence France-Presse. Police officials told the AP that there were approximately 100 hostages in the Bataclan, and at least 35 people have been killed.

At approximately 12:30am local time, police stormed the Bataclan, according to AFP. The siege ended roughly 30 minutes later, and the hostages have been released, according to AP. At least two of the attackers were killed.

The Eagles of Death Metal, an American band, were playing the Bataclan when the hostage situation began. Some of the band members and crew have escaped and are currently safe, according to the Washington Post. Others are still missing, according to a post on the band’s Facebook page.

Eagles of Death Metal/Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/p/-CduGpqq9D/

With more than three dozen declared dead, Friday’s siege represents the largest terrorist attack on the city of Paris in modern history, surpassing the 1961 Vitry-Le-François train bombing, which claimed the lives of 28 people.

In a statement issued near midnight local time, President Hollande has declared a state of emergency and ordered all of France’s borders closed.

At the White House on Friday evening, President Barack Obama offered his support to the people of France, and he vowed that the United States would help the French government fight terrorism. He called the attacks an “outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians.”

“This is an attack not just on Paris, it is an attack not just on the people of France, but it is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share,” Obama said. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3o8h9bW9Zs

Paris authorities have instituted a curfew on the city for the fourth time since World War II.

Final update 2:46pm CT, Nov. 16: Most recent death toll numbers updated.

Photo via photographerglen/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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*First Published: Nov 13, 2015, 7:00 pm CST

Dell Cameron

Dell Cameron was a reporter at the Daily Dot who covered security and politics. In 2015, he revealed the existence of an American hacker on the U.S. government's terrorist watchlist. He is a co-author of the Sabu Files, an award-nominated investigation into the FBI's use of cyber-informants. He became a staff writer at Gizmodo in 2017.

Dell Cameron