Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
As It Happens

Tragedy in Paris: dozens killed in shooting, bombing attacks

Terror attacks once again shook France, this time as shootings and bombings occurred throughout the city of Paris.
CBC Radio ·
People run after hearing what are believed to be explosions or gun shots near Place de la Republique square in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. At least 35 people were killed in several shootings and explosions in Paris, police said. (Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty)
As It Happens6:35Tragedy in Paris: dozens killed in shooting, bombing attacks

There is mayhem in Paris.

There are reports of killings including shootouts at restaurants, explosions near a stadium where a soccer match was underway, and a possible hostage-taking at a theatre.

French President François Hollande has said he is closing all borders and has declared a state of emergency.

Didier Quemener lives in Paris. He was watching a soccer game on TV when he heard sirens down the street.

"We usually hear those kinds of sirens from time to time but they were repetitive so we were wondering what was going on. After a while, we switched the channel to the news station and we realized there were some incidents happening in Paris."

"The entire neighbourhood was shut down. No cars could go anywhere," he says. "Now, it's actually extremely quiet. There's no one outside on the street."

Quemener lives about 10 minutes away from the Bataclan, a music venue where people are reportedly being held hostage. There have been reports of gunfire and explosions from this location.

"We heard a testimony from someone who said that as soon as they heard the gunfire they were on the ground and started to run and there were dead bodies already on the ground."  

His home is five minutes away from a restaurant called Le Petit Cambodge where the initial shooting took place. Quemener describes it as a "quiet neighbourhood."

"There was a guy who started to shoot at the restaurant and apparently he ran away right after with his car."

Police officers and rescue workers gather around a victim outside in the 10th district of Paris, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. At least 35 people were killed Friday in shootings and explosions around Paris, many of them in a popular concert hall where patrons were taken hostage, police and medical officials said. (Jacques Brinon/AP)

Quemener says an event like this is frightening, especially since the terrorist attacks earlier this year.


"It happened 10 months ago and basically we feel like we haven't seen an increase in security," says Quemener. "We are not prepared. It's frightening to just think that tomorrow you could go to the grocery store and things like this could happen."

More from this episode