PARIS, Nov 14 – At least 18 people were killed in shootings in central Paris late Friday. Police were outside a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, where the incident occurred. Lylia Melkonian, a reporter for France 2, told there were three different sites where people were shot. We could not immediately confirm the number of places where shots were fired. The neighborhood has many restaurants that were packed with patrons. Melkonian said authorities were evacuating the area.
A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured. Gunfire was heard in central Paris in France soon after 9pm. A police official also confirmed one explosion in a bar near Stade de France where France are playing Germany in a football friendly. The attack on the satirical magazine left 13 people dead, as two Paris-born terrorists slaughtered cartoonists and other members of staff.
AP news agency reports two blasts were also heard at a nearby location near the stadium. Journalist Peter Allen in the city said: “It seems an automatic weapon was used. “Seven are wounded, possibly two dead which suggests an automatic weapon was used in this instance. The blasts were loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans. Sirens were immediately heard, and a helicopter was circling overhead.
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. The restaurant targeted today, Le Carillon, is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices.
Shootings in central Paris on Friday night have left several people dead and wounded, French television reported, while an explosion near Paris at the country’s main sports stadium forced the hasty evacuation of President François Hollande. The explosion occurred during a France-Germany soccer match.
