PARIS —Several dozen people were killed in a series of unprecedented attacks around Paris on Friday, French President Francois Hollande said, announcing that he was closing the country's borders and declaring a state of emergency.
Under French law, the state of emergency can be decided in the event of "imminent danger following serious breaches of law and order."
The state of emergency allows state authorities to forbid the movement of persons and vehicles at specific times and places. They can also define protected areas and safety areas where the movement of persons is controlled.
The state of emergency also allows police to perform house searches day and night —instead of performing them only at daylight.
Police say the city will essentially be shut down on Saturday; all supermarkets, government buildings, museums, restaurants--anywhere people can gather--will be shut down as travel restrictions continue to be enforced. Police are encouraging people to stay indoors unless there is an emergency.
Deputy Mayor of Paris Patrick Klugman said, "We are facing an unknown and historic situation in Paris," he said.
French police officials confirmed that two suicide attacks and one bombing occurred near a Paris stadium. In all, there were at least six attacks in Paris on Friday night into Saturday morning.
The Paris prosecutors office said eight extremists were dead after Paris attacks, seven of them in suicide bombings.
A police official said 11 people were killed in a Paris restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, and other police officials said at least twice that number died elsewhere, primarily in the Bataclan music venue, where the hostages were taken.
The Paris police prefect said the attackers at the Bataclan blew themselves up with suicide belts as police closed in, killing four people. He said the gunmen first sprayed cafes outside the venue with machine gunfire, then went inside the concert hall and killed more before the assaullt by security forces.
The prefect, Michel Cadot, said the one set of attackers was at the stadium and at nearly the same time the second group attacked within the city.
Cadot said all the attackers are believed dead, although authorites are hunting for any possible accomplices.
American band Eagles of Death Metal was performing at the Bataclan on Friday evening when the events started taking place. One of the bandmembers' brothers said that his brother was safe, and that the band quickly exited the theater after sounds of the first gunshot.
Also late Friday, 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. Hollande, who was in the stadium, was evacuated to an emergency meeting.
You can hear the explosions in the background in these videos:
The attacks together are the second most deadly in the West since September 11, according to IntelCenter, a counterterrorism intelligence organization that monitors jihadist websites.
"Based on early casualty numbers of at least 100 killed, the Paris attacks are the second most deadly terrorist attack in a Western city since the 9/11 attacks," the site wrote. The only other attack as deadly was one in Madrid on March 11, 2004. In that attack on commuter trains in the Spanish capital, 191 were killed.
The terror in Paris is the 28th terrorist attack since September 11 to kill more than 100 people.
Meanwhile, while no one has officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, Twitter accounts linked to jihadists are celebrating them.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group tracking militant sites, Twitter posts attributed to jihadist supporters are speculating which group may be responsible. Many users expressed belief that the Islamic Group could be behind the carnage.
They used Arabic-language hashtags that translated to "Paris on fire" and "Caliphate state strikes France."
SITE says that accounts also circulated pictures of the attacks, and one pro-IS channel accused France of sending warplanes to bomb Syria and says "today it drinks from the same cup."
In the United States security has been stepped up in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington. Also, shortly after the attacks were reported President Obama spoke made a national address. Here are some highlights of what he said:
"We've seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. 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 humanity and the universal values we share."
"France is our oldest alley. French people have stood shoulder to shoulder with American people time and time again."
"Those who think that they can terrorize the people of France or the values they stand for are wrong."
You can watch the president's full statement here:
However, Homeland Security officials who are monitoring the attacks in Paris say there is no known, credible threat against the United States.
People were also astounded by the acts of kindness in the wake of the attacks. The hashtags #StrandedInUS and #PorteOuverte were created so that anyone who was stranded due to canceled flights, or in Paris anyone too far from home, could find a place to stay.
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.
One of at least two restaurants targeted Friday, Le Carillon, is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices, as is the Bataclan, among the best-known venues in eastern Paris, near the trendy Oberkampf area known for a vibrant nightlife.
A French government official says President Hollande is cancelling his trip to the G-20 meeting in Turkey. He was due to leave Saturday for the meeting, which was to focus in large part on growing fears of terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists.
