Investigators in Cars, Drinking Coffee

On 13 November 2015, a string of coordinated terrorist attacks swept Paris leaving 130 people dead and 494 wounded. Beginning at approximately 9:20pm a terrorist detonated a suicide vest outside the Stade de France where French President Francois Hollande was attending a soccer game. Three suicide bombers had attempted to gain entry to the stadium but had been turned away at the gate. The first bomber was killed along with one innocent citizen. At 9:25pm terrorists shot and killed 15 people in a bar and restaurant in the tenth district. At 9:30pm a terrorist detonated his suicide vest outside the stadium. Another would detonate at 9:53pm. At 9:32pm terrorists shot and killed 11 people at a café in the 11th district. At 9:36pm terrorists shot and killed 19 people at a restaurant on Rue de Charonne. At 9:40pm a terrorist detonated a suicide vest in the 11th district killing himself and wounding several others. At the same time, at 9:40pm, three terrorists stepped out of a vehicle on Boulevard Voltaire in front of the Bataclan Concert Hall armed with rifles. The band Eagles of Death Metal was performing in a packed house of approximately 1500 people. The three terrorists opened fire outside the venue and shot their way inside while shouting “Allāhu Akbar.” Knowing that some victims were playing dead among the piles of bodies, the terrorists walked among them, laughing as they executed men and women with shots to the head. They would kill 90 people. Just after midnight on 14 November, French authorities stormed the theater. In the ensuing chaos, the 3 terrorists were shot by police or detonated suicide vests. It is believed the Bataclan theater was targeted because the owners were Jewish. On 14 November, ISIS claimed responsibility in an online statement in Arabic and French. Investigations indicate the attacks were ordered out of Syria with the tactical planning taking place in Belgium. In the days following the attack, French authorities conducted hundreds of operations across the country. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the lead planner of the attack, was killed on 18 November 2015 in a raid in Paris.