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Watch: Eyewitness videos at Bataclan theatre during the attack

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Some thought they were hearing firecrackers go off in the theatre. That is until they saw people falling over and men armed with guns and explosives at the entrance of the concert hall.

American rock group the Eagles of Death Metal were about 45 minutes into their performance at Bataclan concert hall in Paris last Friday night (Nov 13)  when three heavily-armed assailants barged through the doors and opened fire into the more than 1,000 strong crowd.

The attack happened at about 9:40 pm.

User @seb_snow had posted on Instagram footage of when the incident took place.

 

 

In the 14-second video, the band can be seen playing till the last few seconds of the video when firecracker-like shots can be heard. The guitarist on the left immediately ran for cover offstage while the drummer cowered behind his drum set. Another guitarist was too stunned on stage to move.

French newspaper Le Monde released footage of people escaping the concert hall when the attacks happened.

 

 

In the video, people can be seen running out of the back door of the concert hall, stepping over bodies. Some people clung onto the window ledges of the building as they try to avoid being shot.

There were also people dragging bodies away from the area, leaving trails of blood on the ground.

Polish television journalist Anna Kalczyńska was outside the theater where gunshots and explosions could be heard.

A video under the username ElissaFM has gone viral. In the video, the cameraman can be heard commenting over gunshots, police shouting and the wailing of sirens as aid arrives at the scene.

 

 

According to the BBC, less than three hours later after the attack, the police managed to control the situation and shoot the terrorists.

A total of 89 people were killed at the venue, including the band's merchandise manager, and 99 others were critically injured.

SUSPECTS

French officials have identified suspected Islamic State militant Omar Ismail Mostefai as one of three attackers who blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall. His finger was found among the rubble.

A senior Turkish official said that they had warned France twice of him almost a year ago in which France paid no heed to until after the Paris attack, AFP reported.

Mostefai was born on Nov 21 1985 in the poor suburbs of Paris. He was confirmed to have entered Turkey from the northwestern province of Edirne that borders Greece and Bulgaria in 2013.

However, there was no record of him leaving the country.

At the same time, a 27-year-old Belgian man, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been named as the suspected mastermind behind the Paris attacks, according to The Independent.

RTL radio in France reported that the 27-year-old is “one of the most active Isis executioners” in Syria and allegedly oversaw and funded the attacks in Paris.

Sources: BBC, Le Monde, The Independent, AFP

 

Paris attackTheatreterrorismEagles of Death Metal