Silent Gunmen Killed People in the Bataclan, Witness Says

And the terrorists were very calm, very determined and they reloaded three or four times their weapons. They didn’t say anything.

“When I went on the street I saw 20, 25 bodies lying on the floor”.

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

Paris: A journalist at the Bataclan theatre, one of the multiple sites in Paris which was attacked on Friday night, said the terrorists blindly fired at the crowd for 10-15 minutes, BBC reported.

Pearce said he was near the top of the stage when the shooting began. It was part of a coordinated attack that marked the deadliest day in Paris since World War II.

President Francois Hollande blamed the attacks on ISIS, calling it “an act of war” by the militants.

At least 120 people were killed in a series of terror attacks in Paris on November 13 according to a provisional total, a source close to the investigation said. France’s BFM TV reported that the death toll was 100.

“What scared us the most was that the last terrorist was killed just near us so we heard all the conversation and gunfire”. Saint-Denis is home to the national stadium where the match was being played.

In an address to the nation following Friday’s attack, Hollande declared a state of emergency and said border security has been ramped up.

As the police, emergency services and military mobilised armoured vehicles, ambulances and helicopters, the heart of the French capital was sealed off. BFMTV said the ongoing hostage situation was at a theater named Bataclan. The attackers had enough time to reload at least three times.

In January, two gunmen attacked the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 and wounding 11. At midnight, police said “several hundred” concert-goers inside the Bataclan were being held hostage by an unknown number of gunmen.

“There was an announcement that people should leave via the south, north and west exits but five minutes later numerous spectators had returned”.

There was no immediate verifiable claim of responsibility but supporters of the Islamic State militant group which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria said in Twitter messages that the group carried them out. “We ducked with the other diners”, she said.

After police entered the Bataclan, detonations and gunfire could be heard from outside the concert hall, according to a CNN producer at the scene.

“There are lots of people here”.

A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured. He was lucky enough to be able to climb onto the stage and find an exit while the terrorists were reloading.

Pearce said he ran 200 meters with an injured teenage girl to catch a taxi, and told the cabbie to get her to the hospital.

“It was a huge panic”, Pearce said.

“They are hiding in a few kind of room in the dark and they text me, and they are very afraid, of course, and they are waiting for the police to intervene, but it’s been over two hours now and this is awful”.

– Police stormed the theater in a rescue operation.

“I have seen the face of one man, one terrorist, he was very young, he was 20 years old, 25 maximum”.

“They had 20 hostages, and we could hear them talking with them”, Janaszak said. And they didn’t shout anything.

“If people are stranded, I can accommodate two of three people on Rue des Martyrs”, offered one user, while WroteGabDeLioncourt said: “Our sofa is always available for two/three people in Maraichers”. When we told people what had happened they believed us immediately.

Another radio reporter described the “10 horrific minutes” when the black-clothed gunmen calmly opened fire.

“I’m going to a concert on Tuesday”. We heard two big bangs in the first half and then another one that was smaller.