Terrorist Attacks in Paris Have Everyone on Edge
Friday evening was beautiful weather in Paris. Many people were out and about enjoying the city of Lights. At 9:20 PM local time, however, it became a night of agony and sorrow when the first attack began.
According to CNN, the first attack was at the Stade de France, home of the France national football team. They were in the middle of a game against Germany when three suicide bombers attacked near the entrance across a 30 minute time frame from 9:20 PM to 9:50 PM. Luckily, it resulted in only four deaths, three of which were the terrorists, but it was setting the stage for the night to come.
There were attacks at four different restaurants across Paris that evening. CNN reported that the first attack was at 9:25 PM, they shot at people outside Le Carillon, a café and bar, before crossing the rue Bichat and shooting people inside the restaurant Le Petit Cambodge. After that, a man with a Kalashnikov rifle fired shots outside Café Bonne Bière at 9:32 PM. Then at approximately 9:36 PM, two gunmen fired shots for several minutes at the outdoor terrace of the restaurant La Belle Équipe before getting in their car and driving away. The last attack was at Comptoir Voltaire café. A man placed an order before detonating his suicide vest around 9:40 PM. These four attacks combined killed 39 people and injured 42.
According to Daily Mail, At approximately 9:40 PM, a mass shooting and hostage-taking occurred at the Bataclan theatre in the heart of Paris. This would become the final and deadliest attack of the evening. The American band Eagles of Death Metal was playing and there was an audience of 1,500 people. About an hour into the concert, a car pulled up outside the venue and three men with rifles entered the hall. unfortunately, at first the audience thought the gunfire was more of the band’s pyrotechnics. The attack went on for about 20 minutes. Daily Mail said that the attackers threw hand grenades into the crowd at one point. Some survivors escaped out the emergency exit into the street or climbed on the roof. Some hid in the bathrooms and offices. Others laid on the floor pretending to be dead. The band’s members escaped without injury. The attackers eventually took a large number of concertgoers hostage around 10:00 PM. They threatened to kill a hostage and throw him out the window every five minutes. Starting at 10:15 PM, Police launched a raid of the theatre because of reports that the attackers had started killing hostages. They initially estimated that 100 people had been killed, but the toll was revised to 89. The attackers died by detonating their suicide vests. It took 10 hours to remove all the bodies from the venue and identify them.
Arrowhead Senior Mia Rocco said, “When my family and I visited Paris last summer, we took pictures in the stadium and I remember stopping by the Bataclan Theatre. The attacks really hit home with us and we are praying for anyone affected by the attacks.”
According to CNN, Paris had a quick and strong response. They declared a state of emergency and temporary border checks were introduced. Two days later, on November 15th, France ordered its largest air strike ever on ISIS, after the group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
It was not long before President Obama made an official statement, according to the Whitehouse website. He proclaimed that America would help France in its time of need.
Isabel Cased, a current Arrowhead student, said, “Me and my family were watching the news as the attacks were happening, it was horrifying and all too real. The next day my parents found a charity that was going to accept donations for the victims of the attacks and sent in money.”
