This is breaking news, but a string of terrorist attacks is taking place in Paris right now, which has left at least 60 dead according to the reports. Part of the attacks involves a hostage situation where 60 people are being held at the Batlacan Theater where the Eagles of Death Metal played a sold out show. Queen of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, who’s one of the main members of the band, is not currently on tour with them right now and it is unknown if any members of the band are being held hostage at the moment, but Billboard is stating that “about 15” were killed at the concert hall. CNN is reporting that there are gun battles taking place at this point, with 6 to 8 gunmen inside the theater.
There aren’t many details about the situation and as soon as there’s more information available, we’ll let you know.
Police are saying about 60 people are being held hostage inside the Bataclan theater https://t.co/kwL1Fjb52s pic.twitter.com/g1TEh5tzD1 — The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 13, 2015
Video: aftermath #explosion #Paris #StadedeFrance (@maybachmsc) pic.twitter.com/Khj3Kv3uFN — Russian Market (@russian_market) November 13, 2015
#BREAKING Hostages taken at Paris Bataclan concert hall, police say — Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 13, 2015
UPDATE 6:01PM, via CNN: The Bataclan theater is a 1500-capacity theater. A radio journalist Julien Pearce, who was at the show, said 3 to 4 gunmen came in armed with AK-47s and for 10 minutes, started randomly slaughtering people at the concert. He escaped by running onstage and finding an exit. He reported seeing 20-25 bodies. UPDATE 6:10PM: Eagles of Death Metal drummer Jolian Dorio’s mother and the band Red Lemons reports that Eagles of Death Metal escaped the concert safely. From the Washington Post:
Mary Lou Dorio, the mother of Julian Dorio, the drummer for Eagles of Death Metal band, told The Post that her son and other band members managed to escape the Bataclan concern hall when the attack there began. However, the fate of several crew members remains unknown, she said. “It was awful,” the mother said. She added that her son was at a local police station, where he was able to call his wife.
UPDATE: Eagles of Death Metal have weighed in, saying that not all band and crew members are accounted for
We are still currently trying to determine the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew. Our thoughts are with all of the people involved in this tragic situation.
Posted by Eagles Of Death Metal on Friday, November 13, 2015
Pour rassurer les personnes qui nous savaient au concert des Eagles of death metal au bataclan, il y a eu un attentat,… Posted by Red Lemons on Friday, November 13, 2015
UPDATE 7:10PM: Multiple reports are stating that the hostage siege at Bataclan has ended with two gunmen dead. UPDATE 7:25 PM: Reports are stating that 100 people lost their lives at the club. UPDATE 8:21 PM: An eyewitness told Le Figaro the following: “It was chaos. I was on the right in the hall of Bataclan, a song by Eagles of Death Metal was going to end, when I hear noises like exploding firecrackers, I see the singer removed his guitar, I turn I see a guy armed with an automatic weapon that shoots into the air. Everyone folds to the floor. From there, it is the instinct that takes over in each burst, we try to crawl as far as possible shooters.” According to the LA Times, while the band members are safe and sound, there’s still two members of Eagles of Death Metal’s crew unaccounted for as of right now. UPDATE 9:06 PM: Michael Dorio, brother of drummer Julian Dorio, offered his account to ABC7 of what his brother was able to tell him about the incident
“He said they were playing, about six songs into the show, and they heard, before they saw anything, they heard automatic machine gunfire. And it was so loud, it was louder than the band, and they all hit the stage floor. And as they got up to try to evacuate they saw men with machine guns just shooting anything and everything in the venue. Fifteen hundred people, Julian said, was about the capacity of the venue. I don’t know if it was seated or standing but Julian, the lead singer and some of the crew, there was a door back of the stage that led to a street and they flew out the back door.”
UPDATE 9:26PM: Looks like a few band members and crew from Deftones were present at the show but left 15 min before the attacked occurred. Deftones was scheduled to perform at the Batalcan for the next three days and decided to stop by the show. Aaron Harris, who is currently drumming for the band, said that everything seemed normal at the show, but when he returned to his hotel after the concert, employees quickly brought him inside. Deftones posted the following update on their Facebook page:
Thank for all your inquiries on our well being. Band/Crew all safe and accounted for at this time. Prayers for those affected in these tragic events.
Posted by Deftones on Friday, November 13, 2015
[via Metal Injection and Billboard]
