Paris Attacks LiveBlog LiveStream: 'Act of War' Declared. Manufactured 9/11 Deja Vu. French Borders Closed.

France Under National State of Emergency

UPDATE 13 NOV 5:50 PM PST

Five suspects plus another 153 have died in Paris this evening. Reportedly, there were two suicide bombers involved in the explosions. Beneath foil blankets, signs of life are being reported.

There are some 200 people injured, 80 of whom are seriously injured.

Seven sites were attacked.

Officials report the death toll from the attacks in the heart of Paris on Friday evening has reached 153. Scores of people are injured. Reports say five suspects are dead.

There were seven areas in separate coordinated attacks, according to officials.

French officials have confirmed 1500 people were in the concert hall at the time of the attack. Reports from eye witnesses say the attackers were young. In one area, the shooting rampage last 10-15 minutes.

“There was blood everywhere,” said one eye-witness, who managed to escape.

Another man, Ben Grant was trapped by dead bodies in a bar in a popular restaurant area.

Grant was in a bar with his wife when one of the shootings occurred. They saw six or seven bodies on the ground and were told shots had been fired from cars, he said..

“There are lots of dead people. It’s pretty horrific to be honest… I was at the back of the bar. I couldn’t see anything,” he said. “I heard gunshots. People dropped to the ground. We put a table over our heads to protect us.

“We were held up in the bar because there was a pile of bodies in front of us.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered sympathies to the people of France struggling to cope with the deaths of people following multiple attacks in Paris Friday night. He said there is no indication of Canadian victims.

Australian Prime Minister Julie Bishop says there are no reports of Australians killed or injured in Paris at the moment. She emphasized that the situation is very fluid. One Australian was in the area and reported to officials that he is safe. She explained there is no way to travel in or around Paris. All metros, that run every two seconds, are shut.

No organization has claimed responsibility of the attacks.

Man with bloodied shirt being aided out of Bataclan concert hall after attacks.

Some people died in attacks near the Stade de France. Reports from that area suggest a suicide blast. Some were killed at restaurants.

Liberation newspaper quoted Vincent, a journalist at Stade de France, where France was playing Germany in a football game.

“Everybody went onto the pitch. The crowd of anxious people began moving after the final whistle, no one knew what had happened outside. We heard two big bangs in the first half and then another one that was smaller. A helicopter was in the air above the stadium after half time,” he said.

“The match carried on as if nothing had happened, but we were following everything on Twitter, especially the fact that President Hollande had been evacuated even though none of us saw him leave. I didn’t see any of the second half. There was an announcement that people should leave via the south, north and west exits but five minutes later, many of the spectators had returned.”

Julien Pierce, a Europe 1 journalist who inside the Bataclan concert hall said, “Several armed men came into the concert. Two or three men, not wearing masks, came in with what looked like Kalashnikovs and fired blindly on the crowd.

“It lasted between 10 and 15 minutes. It was extremely violent and there was panic. The attackers had enough time to reload at least three times. They were very young.”

Panic in Paris: Residents open homes to terrified citizens. Credit: Twitter

UPDATE 13 NOV 5:20 PM PST

Loved ones are frantically seeking information on loved ones in Paris. Facebook has a special page for it, as detailed below in an earlier update.

KEN5 reports that California’s Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes, one half of the leading duo of the hard-rock group Eagles of Death Metal, is believed to have been in the Bataclan concert hall when terrorists stormed in. Reports are sketchy on whether the band members got out safely. The other half of the duo, Joshua “Baby Duck” Homme, was not performing at the Paris concert, according the Billboard.

“We are still currently trying to determine the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew,” a statement on the group’s Facebook page read. “Our thoughts are with all of the people involved in this tragic situation.”

Julien Pearce, a reporter with Europe 1 news organization, was at the Eagles of Death Metal performance at the Bataclan concert hall as it came under attack Friday.

“I was inside the room when several gunmen came in,” Pearce said. “Two or three individuals who weren’t masked held Kalashnikov-type weapons and started shooting blindly into the crowd. It lasted about 10, 15 minutes. It was extremely violent. There was a panic. Everyone ran and people, including myself, were trampled.”

UPDATE 13 NOV 4:54 PM PST

French police report the death is now 140.

French police report that 3 suspected attackers were killed in a police raid.

Facebook has activated safety check for people in #Paris http://glbn.ca/UDqJp  Parisians say #PorteOuverte

UPDATE 13 NOV 4:41 PM PST

Paris Death Toll Rises to 100

At least 100 people are reported to have died at the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.

Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and military personnel are being deployed across the city.

Thousands sang the French National Anthem as they were being evacuated from the stadium Stade de France as Paris was under attack.

It is now reported there were three gunmen in the Bataclan. Earlier reports said there was only one, wearing an explosive belt.

The Eiffel Tower is in the dark, in memory of those killed in attacks this evening.

Obama planned to visit Paris

US President Barack Obama was briefed on the unfolding situation by Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco,  White House official said. The attacks come two weeks before Obama and other world leaders are due to travel to Paris for climate talks.

JM Berger, an expert on ISIS propaganda and author of a recent book on the terrorist group, told Business Insider that it’s “too soon to say” what’s behind the attacks.

ISIS supporters are Islamophobes are tweeting about it.

Mia Bloom, a terrorism expert at Georgia State University, tweeted the attacks share some of the same hallmarks of terrorist attacks in Paris in January.

“This starts looking a lot like what happened in Paris before,” Bloom told Business Insider in an email. She speculated the attacks might be connected to the trial of 20 members of a suspected jihadist cell in France.

UPDATE 13 NOV. 4:00 PM PST

100 hostages being shot one by one

French police reportedly are raiding the Bataclan, where attackers have been shooting hostages inside one-by-one.

The Paris terror attack death toll has risen to at least 60 people and more injured in three different shootings in Paris’ 10th and 11th arrondissements, French media, citing police, is reporting.

Latest reports say at least one gunman is inside Bataclan, with an explosive belt. Five explosions have reportedly been coming from nearby or inside the theater.

Residents near the Paris attack locations are offering shelter using Twitter hashtag #PorteOuverte, which means “open door” in French. Warning issued at #PorteOuverte: “DON’T POST YOUR LOCATION HERE YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS READING! SEND DMS, STAY SAFE

Paris taxi drivers are giving people free rides. The Paris Metro has been also shut down by police.

A witness said he heard gunshots as he walked on a street in the 10th district of Paris, close to Place de La Republique. Arrivng outside a restaurant, he saw bodies on the ground.

“I saw three bodies being put into body bags,” said Fabien Baron, a student.

US security officials told Reuters they believe the attacks were coordinated.

ORIGINAL STORY

Breaking: In Paris the death toll has risen to 35  after shootings and ‘several explosions’ Friday night, 100 people were taken hostage.

President François Hollande has been evacuated, taken to ‘safe location’ (MSNBC, wires)

France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders after at least 40 people were killed in multiple shootings and explosions in Paris.

At least 15 people were killed near Bataclan arts centre, where up to 60 people are reportedly being held hostage, French media say. Three people were killed in an attack at Stade de France, with some reports suggesting a suicide blast.

Paris authorities have asked people to stay indoors.

Military personnel are being deployed across Paris.

The deadliest attack appears to have targeted Bataclan concert hall. BBC’s Hugh Schofield says scores of ambulances are on the scene, suggesting many victims were inside.

[See Dozens are dead In Paris shootings and blasts.]

Hostages have been taken to a concert theatre as a number of attacks take place across the French capital. 

Police say multiple shootings and two explosions struck across the French capital.

Le Petit Cambodge restaurant in the 11th district was attacked. There, a BBC reporter could see 10 people lying on the road, dead or seriously injured.

Le Carillon bar not too far away was hit.

Three explosions occurred outside a bar near the Stade de France.

At a cafe in rue de Charonnemore, over 100 rounds were fired, an eyewitness told Liberation.

Some report up to six gunmen involved.

Updates to follow.