A series of terror attacks shook Paris Friday night, leaving the city in chaos and more than 100 dead.
Reports from the French capital said multiple attacks, which officials said appeared to be coordinated, took place at a theater, near a soccer stadium, inside a restaurant, and other locations. The Associated Press said French police confirmed two suicide bombings.
President Francois Hollande announced in a live broadcast to the French nation that he had declared a state of emergency and is closing the country’s borders so that no perpetrator of the terror attacks could escape.
He also ordered a curfew, the first in Paris since World War II. The French military has been deployed around Paris, with a reported 200 troops inserted into the district where at least one of the attacks happened.
President Obama spoke from the White House Friday, calling the attacks an assault on all of civilization.
“Once again, we see an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians,” he said from the White House. “This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, in a separate statement, said, “these are heinous, evil, vile attacks. Those of us who can must do everything in our power to fight back against what can only be considered an assault on our common humanity.”
Attackers reportedly took hostages at a concert hall where a U.S. band, Eagles of Death Metal, was performing. France 24, reported that a police raid had killed two gunman at the venue, but not until after they had unleashed what witnesses described as a bloody carnage.
A combination of suicide bombers and shootings were reported outside the stadium, which interrupted a soccer match between the French and German national teams. Hollande was at the match and had to be evacuated, along with the rest of the crowd.
Before the attacks, President Obama spoke with Hollande about the upcoming international climate talks in Paris, scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 1. They also discussed their upcoming meeting this weekend in Antalya, Turkey on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, though Holland has cancelled his trip to the meeting in the wake of the attacks.
The White House said President Obama was being briefed on events Friday evening. It said Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism was keeping him informed.
New York City was put on official alert, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Fox affiliate reported.
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