PARIS, FRANCE — Estimates are still rolling in on the death toll for a series of coordinated attacks perpetuated by a yet unnamed group which has affected the lives of millions across France and across the world. The BBC is placing the figure of lives lost at 120 souls while AP places it closer to 158, forcing the French government to declare a state of emergency and deploy 1,500 soldiers across the city.
The first warning that this attack may have been eminent came from a French-speaking forum. The forum poster, Encore1Ban, wrote the following on September 26, 2014:
There will be a series of attacks starting from this famous date. Be careful of ALL vehicles, like planes, trains, metro,… And public places I have my sources Enjoy.
Dismissed at the time, it later is speculated that the date in question was none other than Friday the 13th, 2015 — indicating a level of meticulous planning not before seen in prior Paris attacks. Earlier this year, two terrorists carried out a brazen assault on the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo publication that drew international attention to the turmoil in that city. And in August, another attack was attempted on a French train but was stopped by three Americans.
This attack… This series of attacks is something else entirely.
via Reddit
- 23:08 Shotgun reported by people who escaped the hostage situation
- 23:12 The stadium seating is almost empty, everybody is on the field probably in case there is another explosive device somewhere
- 23:14 35 dead and 100 hostages at the Bataclan according to AP
- 23:15 Stadium is being evacuated through the West gate, according to a speaker annoucement
- 23:21 Unconfirmed: new shooting at “Les Halles”, right in the center of Paris
- 23:2 AFP denies the “30 dead” figure
- 23:24 BFMTV claims up to 40 dead
- 23:25 People we know in the “secured room” of the Stadium. Cannot publish photos for security reasons
- 23:26 #OpenDoor (#PorteOuverte) is being used to locate appartments you can go to for your safety if traped outside1:25* People we know in the “secured room” of the Stadium. Cannot publish photos for security reasons
- 23:28 The attackers in the Bataclan may have explosive devices
- 23:32 New official figure: 39 dead, 60 wounded. 60 dead according to BFMTV
- 23:37 Shooting during concert: 3-4 shooters, unmasked, shooting blindly towards the audience according to journalist in audience
- 23:43 6 attacks, Uncomfirmed attack at the Louvre
- 23:48 Obama’s statement is blocking most of the channels, hard to get news now
- 23:49 Calls for open doors in Chatelet Les Halles, attacks are confirmed
- 23:50 200 soldiers sent on site
- 23:54 “Any force possible” was sent, according to François Hollande
- 23:50 Curfew, searches, closed zones, closed borders are now happening
- 00:00 Dozen still held hostage in the Bataclan
- 00:08 Stade de France attack may be suicide bomber
- 00:08 Uncomfirmed attacks in Louvres, Pompidou
- 00:15 Lots of police, ambulances and fire vehicles in the streets, otherwise dead silent. Made sure my friends and family are safe.
- 00:16 6 metro lines being closed, not sure how my brother will come back
- 00:16 Schools will be closed
- 00:20 2 suicide attacks, one bombing confirmed
- 00:20 Fuck, shoots reported by my brother
- 00:21 Explosion heard from him
- 00:23 : Buses coming in probably for evacuation: his photos https://twitter.com/hugomathy
- 00:26 Four explosions happened, possible attacks in Gare Du Nord unconfirmed
- 00:27 New explosions heard by him, Metro is closed
- 00:33 Police Raid at the bataclan, source seems to be the police themselves
- 00:34 New explosions and people running, not yet confirmed
- 00:36 5 ambulances and police trucks under my window, no idea why (no gunshot or explosion heard)
- 00:37 Some people still locked restaurants surrounding attacks with security curtains closed, for safety.
- 00:42 Airports closed, broadcast from scenes may stop. I’ll keep reporting without specifics or political crap
- 00:44 7 attacks seems confirmed. Brother is safe, will stay out there for a bit
- 00:45 Security forces assault confirmed
- 00:47 Ladders on the Bataclan, probably an evacuation
- 00:49 80 dead number seen for the bataclan. Completely unconfirmed.
- 00:51 Two terrorists killed, unconfirmed
- 00:54 Bataclan assault apparently over. Got a really high number of dead, over what I’ve seen online, but was asked to not publish
- 00:56 Metro lines 3,5,8,9,11 closed
- 00:57 Official number 41 or 45 dead, probably not up to date
- 01:02 Thumbs up to Facebook for launching a crisis system, I get to know all my friends are safe live. Fuck you Twitter for people who “like” our pictures.
- 01:02 18? bodies in Bataclan, not confirmed just overheard
- 01:07 Terrorist may have been arrested, unconfirmed
- 01:12 Fuck. Number of 100 killed in Bataclan is being posted online. That’s the number I got earlier.
- 01:16 Streets are dead silent. Medias make it sound like it’s a war zone but there is less sirens than a night in Chicago.
- 01:21 Finally got some news from my brother after 25 minutes of silence. Expect some photos soon, I’ll keep covering the event
- 01:25 Metro lines not actually closed it seems
- 01:28 Emergency vehicles now driving away from the scene (from my window). 1500 military deployed
- 01:30 Museums will be closed tomorrow
- 01:31 6 dead confirmed in Saint-Denis
- 01:32 Schools confirmed closed, any school-organized vacation canceled
- 01:33 Red Cross deployed 300 people. I saw a few trucks drive by.
- 01:35 140 dead official number. I won’t speculate but we can expect it to grow.
- 01:36 Official number seems to be 118, not sure if this is Bataclan only or Paris-wide
- 01:38 18 dead confirmed Rue de Charonne
- 01:39 Props to the Stade De France team for a clean and orderly evacuation, it would have made the situation worse
- 01:40 Paris City hall claims 112 dead, 70 from Bataclan
- 01:47 Public transportation now stopped
- 01:49 Lots of cabs in the street now, it should soon be safe to assume the situation is over.
- 01:53 Four attackers reported dead
As the people of Paris pick up the pieces and try to understand the madness that lead to these vicious killings, we here at Concealed Nation want to take a moment in silence to appreciate the efforts of those in French law enforcement and military who bravely rushed in to try to save lives. And we’ll be taking another moment to mourn the dead and pray for the lives of those they left behind.
Today, we stand with France in this tragedy.