According to numerous reports via social media, and news organisations the Paris’ Bataclan Concert Hall was attacked by three men in their 20’s or 30’s wearing black clothing, flak jackets and Kalashnikovs. They burst into the concert hall and indiscriminately opened fired into the crowd.
The gunmen shot for an estimated 15 minutes and reloaded their machine guns three times. At least 50 people have been shot inside the hall.
One survivor called it a “bloodbath”. Another concert goer who managed to escape through an emergency exit stated there are at least 1000 people still in the concert hall. He also stated that the gunmen were not wearing masks.
According to the BBC’s Hugh Schofield, ambulances arrived at the scene, but the number of casualties has not yet been confirmed.
California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal were on stage playing at the time of the attack.
Reports of other attacks across the city are coming in. At Le Petit Cambodge Restaurant, a BBC reporter saw 10 people lying on the road.
And an eyewitness told Liberation newspaper that he had heard more than 100 rounds being fired at a cafe in Rue de Charonne. There are reports of up to six gunmen involved.
President Francois Hollande called the events “unprecedented terrorist attacks” and added, “This is a horror. ”
France has now closed its borders and declared a state of emergency.
We will be following this story as it unfolds.
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