Is This the ISIS Killer Stalking the Bataclan Venue Before his Murderous Rampage Begins? Video Shows Mysterious Figure Clad in Black Moments Before the Massacre
- Terrorists took over Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Friday night
- Seven terrorists blew themselves up when police raided the theatre
- At least 127 are reported dead in attacks throughout the French capital
- Locations outside stadium and popular restaurant among targeted sites
- French President Hollande has vowed to 'mercilessly strike back'
AP, 14 November 2015
One of the four gunmen who went on a murderous rampage through a Paris theatre may have been caught on camera moments before they opened fire, killing more than 80 innocent people.
The footage, captured by Tuesday Cross, girlfriend of Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes, shows a figure dressed head to toe in black with a backpack, making their way through the corridors of the Bataclan concert hall.
Moments later, gunmen shouting 'Allahu Akbar' - God is great in Arabic - began indiscriminately killing those who had crammed into the venue to see the band perform.
This figure is thought to be one of the gunmen, filmed in a corridor of the Batalcan theatre shortly before he began killing concert-goers
The gunmen burst into the concert hall moments later, shouting 'Allahu Akbar', 'God is great'. Pictured: A victim under a blanket outside the theatre after the massacre
A victim is wheeled away from the concert hall. The death toll currently stands at 82, with many more wounded
People arrived to place flowers this morning, while in other parts of the city they donated blood
The gunmen - who were recorded speaking perfect French, first shot at people standing by the bar, before turning their guns to the terrified crowd, according to survivors of the massacre.
'They didn't stop firing. There was blood everywhere, corpses everywhere. Everyone was trying to flee,' said Pierre Janaszak, a radio presenter who was at the concert.
'I clearly heard them say 'It's the fault of Hollande, it's the fault of your president, he should not have intervened in Syria'.'
ISIS has now claimed responsibility, saying 'eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles' conducted a 'blessed attack on... Crusader France'.
Footage has emerged capturing the moment dozens fled through a back exit, while a handful of desperate concert-goers left a trail of blood along a street as they dragged their injured friends to safety.
It shows how one woman clung desperately to the window ledge of the second floor as she tried to hide from the terrorists.
Meanwhile, bodies lie by the entrance – all apparently dead, before one moves and attempts to stand. Bleeding heavily, and unable to lift themselves, the camera captures the moment they try to use their phone – possibly to call for help.
The video was taken by journalist Daniel Psenny from his flat in a building opposite. He was later injured himself, shot in the arm.
Writing in the newspaper today, he revealed he had gone down to open his door, so people could hide.
'There was a man lying on the sidewalk,' he wrote. 'With another man I have not seen later he was fired at as he tried to shelter in the lobby. That's when I think I was shot but I have a blank at that time.
'But I remember I felt like a firecracker exploding in my left arm, and I saw that it was pissing blood.'
Benedict Werner, who was on the balcony, has described the moment he came face-to-face with the killer, who was just five metres away.
'It was surreal,' Werner told AFP.
'We came face to face but he didn't shoot. What did he look like? An ordinary guy with a kalashnikov.
'We ended up crawling between the seats.'
Friends Gregoire, Thomas and Nicolas saidd the killers arrived half an hour into the concert.
'They shot everyone who was at the bar,' the friends said.
'Then we saw a movement in the pit. It was like a gust of wind in the wheat. Everyone fell, dead, wounded and alive. Even if you have no experience of war, we immediately understood what was happening.'
The friends escaped onto the roof, where they were held for two hours 'trapped like rats' while the shooting continued below. Others hid in the roof.
Still inside, Benjamin Cazenoves took to social media.
'There are survivors inside. They are cutting down all the world. One by one,' he wrote.
He added in another post: 'Alive. Just cuts... Carnage... Dead bodies everywhere.'
The carnage came to an end when three of the terrorists inside the theatre later detonated their suicide belts as French authorities raided the building to free hostages.
Four policemen died in the raid, and were able to shoot a fourth terrorist before he activated his explosive.
It was part of a coordinated attack on several targets across Paris, with official figures now say 127 killed and 99 in a critical condition.
Currently 82 people are said to have died at the theatre - whichwas previously a target for extremists because of its Jewish owners.
French officials confirmed that in addition to the four terrorists that died at the theatre, three had died near the stadium and one on the same street as the concert hall.
Paris prosecutors said seven of the eight died in suicide bombings, and added that authorities are looking for accomplices to the bombers and those who shot at restaurants in the city.
French President Francois Hollande described the attacks this morning an 'act of war' orchestrated by the Islamic State group.
This morning, as bodies were removed from the building and investigations began, people began to gather to pay their respects to the dead.
A man played John Lennon's Imagine on a portable piano in the street outside the concert hall, as Parisians laid flowers in rememberance.
Local residents described the horror of seeing bodies on their doorstep. A jogger who lives on the same street as the Bataclan said:
'I was having dinner with friends and we heard gunshots , then explosions.
'There were rounds of gunfire every 20minutes for three hours. When we left it was like a hospital in the street, there were people injured and bodies everywhere.'
Camille Barcouda, a student who lives opposite the concert hall, said: 'People were coming out traumatized, covered in blood.
'They were shocked, crying. Many were bleeding. It was like an action film, but it's not a film, it's real life.'
Around 125 hostages are thought to have been freed during the raid and one hostage who escaped the theatre said the hostage-takers burst into the concert hall and were yelling about Syria.
Another said the gunmen referenced French President François Hollande, who has joined the Western coalition bombing Islamic State in the Middle East.
Witnesses described unmasked men in their early 20s with Kalashnikov assault rifles entering into the middle of the concert of the California rock band The Eagles of Death Metal and spraying bullets after 9pm.
The onslaught lasted for maybe ten minutes as people screamed and cowered on the floor, covering their heads in a vain bid to escape the bullets, a witness told the Daily Mail.
''I was in the pit at the front. I heard bangs go off. I turned round and I saw a silhouette with a cap on who was heading towards the back door,' one witness said
'He shot in my direction. People started falling and throwing themselves towards the ground'.
The American rock band Eagles of Death Metal had been playing when men armed with Kalashnikovs are said to have stormed into the hall and began firing Above, a photo from the Bataclan before the attack
Marc Coupris said that the gunmen shot from the balcony and that 'It looked like a battlefield, there was blood everywhere, there were bodies everywhere'.
Others described hiding in rooms by the stage before making a break for the emergency exit left of the stage, while others said they escaped to the roof and were helped by a man in an apartment adjacent to the theatre.
A post on the Eagle of Death Metal's Facebook page said that the safety of the group was still being determined, though later reports said that all members were safe.
The Bataclan theatre had previously supported the magazine Charlie Hebdo, which previously had offices nearby, after the satirical publication was attacked in January this year.
A photo of the hall shows the marquee with the phrase 'Je Suis Charlie', used in support of the attack's victims.
President Hollande visited the scene of the theatre attack later in the night and said, 'To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless'.
The president declared a state of emergency and 1,500 soldiers were deployed to Paris after the string of violence. French borders were closed to prevent suspects' escape.
Victims were given life emergency blankets as they were evacuated from the area near the concert hall by bus
Quote:
AMERICANS FEARED DEAD IN BATACLAN THEATRE ATTACK
By Ryan Parry West Coast Correspondent for DailyMail.com
Americans are feared dead in the Paris terror attack after it emerged several crew members for California rock band Eagles of Death Metal are unaccounted for.
Around 100 people were massacred at the Bataclan concert hall, where the band had been performing, after terrorists stormed the venue and took hostages.
Police raided the theatre at around midnight, killing the three terrorists inside and freed the remaining hostages.
But a spokesperson for Eagles of Death Metal told Daily Mail Online: '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.'
Earlier family members of EDOM said all band members had got out in time, but there was a question mark over the crew.
The wife of drummer Julian Dorio told The Washington Post that Julian had called her to say everyone was safe.
'He called to say that he loved me and he was safe,' wife Emily said.
'Everyone on stage was able to get off.'
Dorio's mother Mary Lou confirmed that the fates of several crew members was still unclear.
Julian was at a local police station, she said at around 6 p.m.
French group Red Lemons posted to Facebook that the members of Eagles of Death Metal were safe.
They wrote: 'For our american and english friends, a terrorist attack happened at the Eagles of death metal concert. We are safe. Mikel Ross, Eric McFadden we were with your mates Jesse, Tuesday, the other musicians outside, they're safe too, they took a cab.'
Also a friend of opening band White Miles posted on that group's Facebook page that the group are okay.
'Just heard from the band and they're safe,' wrote Ben Gazey.
It's believed Eagles of Death Metal were onstage when attackers burst into the venue and opened fire on the audience. Witnesses said that someone shouted 'Allahu Akbar, God is greatest,' as the shooting occurred.
More than 100 people were counted dead at the central Paris venue, which holds about 1,500 people and was sold out.
Many others were reported wounded.
It's believed dozens of American fans will have been at the gig to follow the popular rock band, originally from Palm Desert, California.
Michael Dorio, brother of EODM drummer Julian told Daily Mail Online he had an 'emotional' conversation with his sibling minutes after the attack.
The 37-year-old said: 'Julian is ok. He and the rest of the band are safe - they manage to escape out of the back of the theater so luckily they are okay.
'He was shaken up but his primary concern now is for the rest of the people still in there.
'He's with the band but some of the crew are still unaccounted for.
'He didn't have his cell phone on him because that was with all of his stuff inside the theater.
'They all headed to a police station and he borrowed someone else's phone and called me - luckily he had memorized my number.
'He didn't really have a chance to go into detail about what happened.
'It was emotional but it was a brief conversation and he had to get down to business quickly because he wanted me to let everybody else know - family members, friends - that he was okay.
'So we didn't have a lot of time to talk emotionally.'
Michael said he was relieved his brother was safe and his thoughts and prayers were now with the victims of the attack.
David Hughes, the brother of band frontman Jesse Hughes, wrote on Facebook that Jesse is 'ok'.
'I spoke to him about an hour ago. The band is ok too. I hold out hope that as many people as possible make it out ok, as well. As the situation is still developing, I can not say much else.'
Hughes' mother Jo Ellen wrote on her Facebook page: 'Update just got word the rest of the band is ok. .. plz keep praying for those still being held and pray for the police.'
Minutes before the gig bassist Matt McJunkins posted a photo of the show just before the band was to go on.
He wrote: 'Parisians, see you in a few!'
Eagles of Death Metal is not a death metal band - the name is an inside joke.
Last month the group released their fourth album, Zipper Down, and were in the middle of a European tour.
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