Seven of the eight terrorists who waged attacks in Paris, which claimed the lives of at least 140 people, died from self-detonated bombs. Accomplices were still being sought by the Paris police Saturday. Paris officials report that at least 100 people were killed inside a concert hall where gunmen orchestrated a hostage situation while the entire city was plagued by multiple terrorist attacks. The hostage situation was part of a spate of shootings and bombings sprawled across central Paris, which have left at least 140 people dead and scores wounded. The hostage situation at the Bataclan theater ended after police stormed the building. According to the Associated Press, attackers at the theater detonated suicide vests as police closed in. Officials told the Associated Press that the aftermath of the raid was "carnage," and that the attackers tossed explosives at the hostages. According to CNN, police engaged in a shootout with attackers at the concert hall before storming it. An American rock band, Eagles of Death Metal, was performing at the hall at the time of the attack. The exact status of the band has not been confirmed. The police requested a media black out as they prepared to enter the theater and wage a rescue effort. Julien Pearce, a radio reporter in Paris, escaped the concert before the raid and told CNN that men in black entered the building and opened fire with AK-47s. The attackers were not wearing masks, according to Pearce, and they appeared to be in their 20s. "Everybody was on the floor covering their heads, and we heard so many gunshots and the terrorists were very calm, very determined, and they reloaded three or four times," he said. When Pearce got to the streets of Paris, he said he saw injured people on the ground. The French reporter was still receiving texts from friends hiding in the Bataclan. "When I went on the street, I saw 20 to 25 bodies laying on the floor," he said. "People were very badly injured with gunshot wounds. I took a small girl, a teenager, she was bleeding very badly, and I ran with her." French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency. "There is reason to be afraid, but this is a nation that knows hows to defend itself," he said. As a part of his response to the attack, the president closed French borders, mobilized the military and instituted a mandatory curfew. Some of the main French Metro stations were closed Friday, including the Gare du Nord, which is the main station in Paris, according to "The Washington Post." Officials said there is currently no threat on American soil. However, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio sent police vehicles to high-profile locations in reaction to the attacks. The city of Boston also increased security measures around the State House and Logan International Airport. U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the tragedy on Friday afternoon. "This is not just an attack on Paris, not just the people of France, but an attack on all of humanity and the values we share," he said. Obama said the U.S. planned to provide whatever assistance the government and people of France needed. "This is a heartbreaking situation, and, obviously, those here in the United States know what it's like," Obama said. "We've been through these types of episodes ourselves." According to the French outlet Liberation, nearby explosions sounded off simultaneously with the shootings; however, it is not known if the two are linked. French television stations have reported that the bombs contained nails. Three explosions occurred near the Stade de France, a French stadium hosting a France versus Germany soccer game. President Hollande was in the stands at the game before being taken to a secure area. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 80,000. Officials told CNN that the explosion near the Stade de France was a suicide bomber. According to Liberation, fans were being incrementally released from the stadium, and a recording uploaded to social media shows a brief pause in the game after a loud noise. The game was completed. According to the Associated Press, there was a bomb threat placed in the early morning hours at a hotel where the German national team was staying in advance of their game with France. The shooting Friday was located near the offices of "Charlie Hebdo," a satirical magazine where 11 people died after a terrorist attack in January. Hollande said France would have a firm response to the latest attacks. He said that France would fight, and that the fight would be merciless. And that France would be determined and unified. He called the deadly acts an "abomination and a barbaric act." The two gunmen in the "Hebdo" attack, brothers who were French citizens claiming ties to al-Qaida, were killed days later in shootouts with police. The magazine frequently depicted caricatures of Muhammad, an egregious offense to the Islamic faith, and extremists had tried to target the publication before. Terrorists attacks in Mumbai and Kenya were carried out in a similar fashion. In the Indian city of Mumbai, from Nov. 26 through Nov. 29, 2008, 10 members of an Islamic militant organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out 12 coordinated attacks over four days. The shooting and bombing attacks left 164 people dead and 308 wounded. The attackers were killed. In September 2013, a shooting at the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, killed more than 60 people and left nearly 200 wounded. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab took credit for the attack.
