Terrorist Attacks in Paris Leave World On Edge

France has declared a state of emergency after a string of terrorist attacks on Friday, November 13^th.

At 8:30 PM, two explosions were heard in the Stade de France where France was playing Germany in an international football friendly match. An hour later, the shooting reports began. Shots were fired at two restaurants within 10 miles of the stadium; 18 were confirmed dead by 10 PM.

As the death toll was established, reports of more shots fired began rolling in. At 10:08 PM up to 100 people were reportedly taken hostage at the Bataclan, a local music venue where American band “Eagles of Death Metal” were playing.

By 11 PM, the confirmed death toll had risen to 42 people. At 11:02, French president Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency, and President Obama voiced his support for the nation in this tumultuous time.

Twenty minutes after the state of emergency was declared, three bombs exploded in Parisian streets; two were believed to be suicide bombings.

The hostage situation at the Bataclan also began to escalate after the declaration. Sounds of open fire and explosions were heard from the building. French police stormed the building shortly after 11:30, killing two of the terrorists holding hostages in the theatre.

The damage had already been done inside the theatre, however, and one police official described the scene they found as “carnage.” The number dead inside the theatre is not yet confirmed, but it is believed to be at least 80 dead.

Over the next two hours, police were dispatched throughout the capital of France. There are reports of terrorists wearing suicide belts while other attackers were killed by police. By 1:40 AM, all of the attackers were dead.

On Saturday morning, radical terrorist group ISIS took responsibility for the string attacks calling them “first of the storm.” This is not the first terrorist attack France has suffered this year. In January, a satirical weekly newspaper printed in Paris named Charlie Hebdo was attacked by a gunman for their printing of Islamaphobic comics. Eleven were killed in the attack.

Since January’s incident, France has been involved in attacks on ISIS quarters in Syria. ISIS claims that the most recent string of terrorist attacks is a response to the bombings in Syria. With 127 confirmed dead, this is the largest scale attack to occur on French ground since World War II.

“Once again we’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians,” said President Barack Obama in a statement. “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.”