Hostage Crisis in Paris

Currently breaking. Thread for updates.

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Quote:

At least 30 people have been killed and 60 taken hostage as terrorists launched attacks at three locations in Paris this evening. Police officials reported a shootout in a Paris restaurant and an explosion in a bar near a Paris stadium. French police are now saying "multiple acts of violence have taken place in and around Paris, leaving several dead." They have also confirmed that up to 60 people have been taken hostage at theatre. One of the police officials said 11 people were killed in a Paris restaurant in the 10th arrondissement and about 15 killed in the Bataclan theater, where the hostage-taking is under way. Also late this evening, two explosions were heard outside the Stade de France stadium north of Paris during a France-Germany friendly football match. An Associated Press reporter in the stadium Friday night heard two explosions loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans. Sirens were immediately heard, and a helicopter was circling overhead. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named. The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks. Emilioi Macchio, from Ravenna, Italy, was at the Carillon bar near the restaurant that was targeted, having a beer on the sidewalk when the shooting started. He said he didn't see any gunmen or victims, but hid behind a corner then ran away. "It sounded like fireworks," he said. France has been on edge since deadly attacks by Islamic extremists in January on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery that left 20 dead, including the three attackers. The restaurant targeted Friday, Le Carillon, is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices. The country has seen several smaller-scale attacks or attempts since, including an incident on a high-speed train in August in which American travelers thwarted a heavily armed Islamic radical trying to attack passengers. An official in Francois Hollande's office told The Associated Press that the French president is meeting with top security officials in the Interior Ministry. The President was earlier evacuated fomr the Stade de France, where up to 90,000 are locked in.

Hostage Crisis in Paris