UPDATE 6 p.m. EST:
There are reports of attacks in six more locations throughout Paris in addition to the three confirmed at Bataclan Concert Hall, Le Carillon restaurant and Petit Cambodge Restaurant.
French President Francois Hollande has closed the borders and military is being deployed around Paris. A state of emergency has been declared. Â
Hostages are beginning to emerge from the Bataclan Concert Hall. No word on if they were released or were able to escape. The shooters inside were said to be “young men” and “not masked,” according to witnesses. The shooters began shooting “calmly.” One of the gunmen reloaded multiple times, during which some hostages were able to escape.
A dismembered body was reportedly discovered outside of the stadium, believed to be a suicide bomber.
In a short address at the White House, President Obama said the United States is “prepared and ready” to provide assistance to France. “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 we share,” he said.
UPDATE 5:43 p.m. EST:
Europe 1 is reporting that a possible fourth shooting has taken place at a shopping mall in central Paris.
President Obama has been briefed on the attacks and will make a statement at 5:45 EST.
The death toll has reportedly risen to 60.
ORIGINAL STORY:Â *An unprecedented series of simultaneous attacks in at least three separate locations in Paris have left at least 30 dead, according to reports.
Three explosions were heard outside Le Carillon, a restaurant near Stade De France stadium, where a soccer match between France and Germany had just started. Reports say French President Francois Hollande was watching the match and had been moved to safety. The match was suspended, and now 60,000 are being evacuated. According to one unconfirmed report, the explosions were from suicide bombers.
At a second location, multiple masked men reportedly stood up inside of Petit Cambodge restaurant and began firing at customers from all sides, according to reports. One witness said he heard more than 100 rounds being fired. A BBC journalist at the Petit Cambodge said he could see 10 people on the road either dead or seriously injured.
Meanwhile, shootings and fatalities have also taken place at Bataclan Concert Hall, and more than 100 people are being held hostage inside of the venue (pictured above). An American group, Eagles of Death Metal from Palm Desert, Calif., were in the middle of performing when the shootings began. One witness said a gunman began firing into the audience with a pump action shot gun. Another witness said the gunman screamed in French, “This is for Syria.”
Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera said his 21-year-old daughter Simone happened to be at the soccer game. She told him she heard three explosions. SWAT team and emergency services swarmed the stadium as fans scattered into the street. Rivera said Simone and the three people in her party were able to get out.
“I just thank God she was not at the rock concert but at the stadium, because of the president’s presence there there was security beyond belief,” a shaken Rivera said on Fox News.
France has been on edge since Islamic extremists attacked the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store early this year. Twenty people, including three attackers, were left dead in the terror.
The restaurant Le Carillon is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices, according to the AP.
In August, a gunman armed with an AK-47 opened fire on an Amsterdam-to-Paris train in France before being subdued by passengers, including three Americans. Three people were injured.
Story developing…
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