As many news outlets have reported, hostages have been taken at an Eagles of Death Metal concert in Paris this evening. The band were playing to a sold-out crowd at the 1200-capacity Bataclan in the 11th arrondissement on Friday night when gunmen entered the venue and began shooting. Early reports say that the gunmen have held 100 people hostage. According to the Washington Post, the band’s members were able to escape, though it’s not been confirmed whether the group’s road crew was able to make it out once the shooting began. It is not yet known how many people inside of Bataclan have been killed.
French police took control of Bataclan around 1:05 a.m. local time.
In addition to the violence at Bataclan, there have been confirmed reports of a public shooting at a Cambodian restaurant in the area.
Additionally, three explosions were reported outside of Stade de France on the Paris outskirts, where the French national team were playing the German national team in a friendly. According to ESPNFC, the bombings occurred about fifteen minutes into the match; audio of the explosions can be heard on the match’s broadcast. Because the extent of the situation outside of the stadium was unclear, officials decided to allow the game to continue to be played. The teams were not informed of the situation until after the conclusion of the match.
The Washington Post and The New York Times are both updating this story live. In addition, French TV channel France 24 is streaming live in English here.
Originally posted 4: 09 p.m. PST, November 13, 2015.
Update: 4:34 p.m. PST, November 13, 2015.
CNN is reporting (via Agence France Presse) that “as many as 100” people were killed at Bataclan. Two of the attackers were killed.
Update: 4:38 p.m. PST, November 13, 2015.
Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman just told CNN that the current death toll at Bataclan is 118.
Update: 7:08 a.m. PST, November 14, 2015.
The Guardian is now reporting that the death toll at Bataclan is 87, per Pitchfork. Last night’s attacks have prompted U2 to cancel their forthcoming HBO special that was to be broadcast live from Paris; Coldplay also announced the cancellation of their own Paris show, which was to be streamed on TIDAL.
