Parts of Paris are on lockdown Friday night amid a wave of attacks that have left at least 35 people dead, dozens injured. The situation is still unfolding, but as many as 60 people are believed to be held hostage at a concert hall.
The attacks began with reports of a shooting at a restaurant, Le Petit Cambodge, in a trendy neighborhood in central Paris. Moments later, witnesses reported hearing multiple explosions outside the Stade de France, where France was playing Germany in a internationally-televised soccer match.
Then, witnesses said numerous attackers took dozens of people hostages at a concert venue, La Bataclan, where the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing a show.
President François Hollande, who was at the stadium, was reportedly evacuated and is now in an emergency meeting at the Interior Ministry. Although explosions could be heard during the game’s broadcast, it continued to its completion.
Authorities did not evacuate the stadium and hundreds of people swarmed the field, hugging each other, crying, and seeking answers to the mayhem unfolding outside.
Noah Nieman, an American who is visiting Paris for business, described scenes of chaos in central Paris, He was at a Phileu restaurant on the Avenue Richerand when he heard shots break out down the road coming from Rue Albert.
“A large crowd of people came running down the street towards us, so we ran inside the restaurant and into the basement,” said Neiman. “There were children crying and a huge crowd hiding down there. We really don’t know what’s going on.”
Neiman said there is currently a large police presence near Rue Albert and one woman ran by saying she saw a body of one of the victims. He said several ambulances also sped through the area. Neiman said after the initial shots rang out, there was a long pause and he went back outside to see what had happened. Several police wearing flak jackets and helmets screamed at people on the street to get back inside.
A second witness, Stephane Hannache, was broadcasting on Periscope during a portion of the attack and shots can be heard at the ten-minute mark in his video.
The gunmen, who used Kalashnikovs, are still at large. The environ of one of the shooting is close to where Charlie Hebdo shootings occurred in January.
The attacks come less than three weeks before world leaders are scheduled to gather for a UN summit on climate change. As of the time of this update, no one, nor any group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
