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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

At Least 153 People are Dead in Terror Attacks in Paris. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired November 14, 2015 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:09] AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hello, and welcome to our continuing coverage to the breaking news out of Paris. I'm Amara Walker in Atlanta.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: And I'm George Howell. It is 10:00 a.m. in France right now. That country is under a national state of emergency. This after Friday night's highly coordinated and unprecedented terror attacks.

WALKER: At least 153 people are dead from six shooting and bomb attacks. You are looking at the heavy security presence outside the Bataclan concert hall which saw the most carnage.

HOWELL: Authorities say eight attackers are dead, seven blew themselves up. Some were armed with AK-47s, and some reportedly had explosive belts. It's still unclear how many attackers though were involved in total.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

WALKER: If we heard correctly, those were three explosions outside the Stade de France. That is where the French president was among thousands of spectators at a football march between France and Germany. At least four people died outside the stadium.

HOWELL: And you were watching the game whether it happened.

WALKER: I was, yes. And it was surprisingly -- we actually didn't hear it over the air, but the announcer did talk about the fact that there were explosions that were heard. And he understood this the president of France was being escorted out. He actually mentioned that it was awkward for him to be broadcasting live a football match during a time of uncertainty.

HOWELL: Right. Well, Parisians are being asked to stay indoors, although some are determined not to let terror win and opened their markets.

WALKER: French president Francois Hollande said his country will be ruthless in its response to the horrific attacks and praised first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRANCE'S PRESIDENT (through translator): I have spoken to the prime minister and the elected members, the mayor of Paris, in order to measure this tragedy, this abomination, in several places of the capital who tried to kill as many people as possible. I'm expressing myself my horror of the dead and express my compassion to the families of those who have been struck by this.

France, which is determined and united, and which will not be stopped with this emotion with regards to this drama and this tragedy of the population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And just within the last hour, President Francois Hollande convened his defense council in Paris to discuss what's next.

As we mentioned earlier, football fans were terrified at France's national stadium just outside Paris. A match between France and Germany ended in chaos.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

HOWELL: You hear it there. The sound of that blast that went off near the stadium.

WALKER: A source told CNN at least one of the three explosions appears to have been a suicide bombing. One eyewitness says spectators didn't understand what was happening, and then things got pretty scary. You can see the fear in the people's faces there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was confusion. We heard two explosions, but at the beginning, I thought that they were agricultural bombs. And there had been lots of rumors inside the stadium. We were at gate E. It exploded just nearby. It's true that it was noisy, but I thought that it was only agricultural bombs. But then there were rumors. We heard about a shooting. There was a lot of confusion inside the stadium a very frightening crowd crush happened with people on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Senior international correspondent Fredrick Pleitgen is standing by live. He is joining us now from Paris.

And obviously a traumatizing and shocking last few hours, Fred. If you can set the scene for us. It's about just after 10:00 in the morning there.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And people here in Paris certainly are shocked. Many of them certainly are very much afraid. And as you have noted, the French government, the French president has called on people to stay inside their houses unless they absolutely need to go outside.

Now, judging from what we are seeing here on the streets of Paris, not everybody is adhering to that advice. There are certainly are many people whom we are seeing out. We have even seen some market stalls that were being set up. However, there are also a lot of shops that remain closed. And I think one of the things that really gets to people at this point in time is that they simply aren't sure at this point whether or not all of the attackers that were involved in these incidents, whether all of them have been killed or whether or not there might still be some who are at large.

Certainly if you talk to people, very few of them will believe that these were just isolated incidents. They believe that this was something that was far more coordinated, especially if you look at the fact, Amara, that these were attacks that happened in various locations at six different locations, some of them, of course, in the center of Paris. Some of them there at the Stade de France.

And also, if you look at the sophistication of the weaponry that was involved. Assault rifles, of course, military-grade equipment, also with seven of the eight attackers who were killed actually having suicide vests and being able to detonate the suicide vests. That certainly is something that does concern people here a great deal.

And then on top of that, we have to keep in mind that this is a city that was ravaged by terror only a few months ago. The memories of "Charlie Hebdo" are certainly something, of course, that still weighs very heavily on many people here. And then to see something similar happen again on an even greater scale is certainly something that if you look at the media here, if you look at the newspapers here, if you look at the public opinion here, people are just absolutely shocked and certainly also very concerned at what might be going on.

WALKER: And because they are concerned, Fred, are you seeing a beefed up security presence there? I mean, some extraordinary security measures are being implemented.

PLEITGEN: Yes. You certainly are. I mean, the security is certainly very tight. And, you know, anybody who visit Paris during normal times, you know that you do see a considerable police force on the ground. You also see the occasional soldiers patrolling the streets, especially the tourist destinations like for instance the (INAUDIBLE), but that is something that has increased drastically over the past hours. Of course, we have already note that some 1,500 soldiers have been mobilized to beef up security here and at other locations as well.

Also just going through the streets here, you can see that the police presence is something very much increased. When you drive around town, when you walk around town, very often you'll see police vehicles drive past with their lights flashing. So clearly, the authorities here are trying to create the impression that they are in control of the situation, in command of the situation. That they can guarantee the security of the people here. But at the same time, of course, you do have those warnings to the people not to take this lightly and not to venture out, in fact, they do not have to which is certainly something almost unprecedented for this city going back for years. But such a warning would have to be issued.

WALKER: Yes. And it was also striking to see, you know, President Hollande in his remarks. He did seem visibly shaken. A very tense time indeed, Fred. Great having you out there.

Thank you very much for that, Fred Pleitgen in Paris.

HOWELL: So there were six different locations, the deadliest scene at a concert hall. Hundreds of music fans, they came together just to watch a performance. But now at least 112 of them are dead.

Earlier CNN spoke with Julian Pierce.

WALKER: And Pierce was inside the theater. We spoke with him as some of the fans were being held hostage. And after that, SWAT units stormed the venue. And at least 100 people were brought out. He described his harrowing experience. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIAN PIERCE, SURVIVOR: The show was about to end, the band Eagle with Death Metal was playing for almost an hour. And suddenly we heard gunshots coming behind us. And when I looked back, I saw at least two men, unmasked men -- maybe there were three. But the confusion I can't tell you exactly, but they were holding assault rifles, AK-47s. I'm sure about it. And they were firing randomly into the crowd. And obviously we all lied down on the floor to not get hurt. And it was a huge panic. And the terrorists -- sorry -- shot at us in like 15 minutes. It was like -- it was a bloodbath. They shot at us, and they reloaded again several times. Multiple times. And it's actually what -- I escaped because they reloaded basically.

I just waited for the time they reloaded to run from the climb the scene and to hide behind it. And I tried to help people around me. And it was -- it was shocking. I mean, it was panicking, huge panic. And so shot at us for 10 to 15 minutes. It was long. It was very, very long. And it's not a huge room. It is about 1,000 people can gather in it. But it was overcrowded. I mean, there were no empty rooms. It was sold out basically. It was easy for them.

[04:10:20] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So two to three men. And CNN has confirmed that two gunmen were killed -- this is the earliest report. But are being told that two gunmen were killed inside the theater. You're saying you saw two, possibly three gunmen with AK-47-style long rifles shooting into the crowd. And this went on for 10 to 15 minutes. Were they standing and shooting? Were they moving around?

PIERCE: They were not moving actually. They were just standing at the back of the scene, at the back of the crowd. And they were just shooting on the floor because everybody was on the floor. And I seen one of the guys, very young, he was like 18, 19 years old, 20 maximum, and he was executing people on the floor, the persons around him. (INAUDIBLE) shooting people. So they were not moving actually. They were just standing at the back of the concert room and shooting at us like people were birds.

COOPER: Were they saying anything? PIERCE: I hadn't heard anything about them. I haven't heard

something like this. I have some friends who escaped who heard them talking about Iraq, but I'm not quite sure about it. But I hadn't heard anything but the screaming of the people.

COOPER: The gunmen, do you remember what they were wearing? Did they have heavy clothing? I mean, there had been some concern about possible suicide vests. Did you see anything --?

PIERCE: Not from what I seen. They were wearing like a black jogging -- black stuff. I mean, they were all wearing black, but no tactical vests. Nothing like this. They were just holding AK-47s, that's all. I haven't seen grenades. I haven't seen bombs or whatever. But it happened so fast. I mean, we were just trying to hide and save our lives. So I looked to one guy a few times, the one I described to you, very young. And he wasn't wearing tactical stuff. He was just a random guy. I mean, I could have met him two minutes before and never thought he was terrorist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Again in the interview, he says that he felt that the gunmen were shooting at them like they were birds.

WALKER: Yes. Like their lives didn't matter at all. At least 14 people were killed at (INAUDIBLE), a Cambodian restaurant in the city.

HOWELL: The people inside duck as the gunmen shock through the restaurant windows. And a bar across the street in the popular 10th district there reportedly hit by gunfire. One patron said people thought they were hearing firecrackers.

WALKER: One witness at the epicenter of the terror attacks spoke to radio France about the moment the gunman entered the Bataclan concert hall.

HOWELL: He says the shooter came in firing assault rifles and shooting "Allah akbar," which is Arabic for God is great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text): In the middle of the concert, there were guys who arrive and they began to shoot at the entrance. They shot into the center of the crowd while yelling Allah Akbar with scatter guns I think, because they discharged. And after the concert stopped and everyone lay on the ground and they continued to shoot at people.

HOWELL: You can certainly hear the terror and shock in that man's voice.

The victims in these attacks, the victims they were all civilians. And the crime scenes were all soft targets.

Let's get more on what happened and the challenges that are posed in finding out who is behind it with Sajjan Gohel. He is terrorism expert and international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation, joining us live this hour from London. Sajjan, good to have you with us this hour. So, look, we're talking

six different locations, all carried out within the same window of time. This doesn't seem like the sort of thing that happens without a great deal of coordination. What is your sense about what happened?

SAJJAN GOHEL, TERRORISM EXPERT: Well, certainly this does look like a well-planned, synchronized attack. It must have taken weeks if not months to plan, to do logistics, reconnaissance. This was a marauding attack. Now the last time we saw something like this was in Mumbai in 2008 where gunmen roamed the streets of the city targeting hotels, restaurants, a Jewish cultural center. Very similar in this attack again with specific soft target locations being hit, a rock concert, football stadium, a restaurant. The aim, it seems, was to kill as many people as possible, waits for the police, and then die in the ensuing shoot-out with those individuals.

[04:15:32] HOWELL: And the response from French authorities, something we haven't seen that hasn't been seen really since World War II. We are talking about closed borders. We are talking about a curfew where the French president asked people to stay indoors. How does all of that help investigators as they try to determine whether there were more people involved in these attacks?

GOHEL: Well, this is unprecedented, what's happened in a western democracy where borders are being shot. Now think about what took place in the aftermath of the "Charlie Hebdo" shootings and then the follow up incidents that were carried out by Amadi Coulibaly (ph) who killed a French woman and held people hostage at the Jewish kosher supermarket. His girlfriend managed to escape in the aftermath. And the authorities are all too aware from lessons learned from those incidents that if they do not patrol the borders, if they don't monitor who is leaving, who is coming in, there could be follow up plots, there could be individuals trying to escape because the gunmen who have been killed in this attack, they can't have planned this alone. They have to be individuals on the periphery who provide assistance, cooperated with them. Those individuals have to be found because they could potentially be tied to other follow up plots in the future. And that's the concern the French authorities have.

HOWELL: There's a great deal of concern and worry for the wounded, of course, in these attacks. But talk to us about investigators looking into people that may have been wounded, for instance, the simple fact that there is concern that there may have been more people involved in these attacks. Is it a possibility that some of them could have blended in to the wounded to get away?

GOHEL: That's a very worrying proposition and certainly can't be ruled out. Keep in mind that these individuals were not dressed in a specific uniform. They were able to disperse themselves within the civilian fabric of society which is often why they go undetected. One of the individuals was at the rock concert said the people who were firing just looked like ordinary individuals. And that of course is a huge concern because this is the invisible. These are individuals going to be easily recognizable, can be identified. And the worry is that there could be follow up plots. We have seen this now all too often that one attack is designed to hit, create those economic and political consequences. Then you could have a follow up incident designed to create social economic consequences. Unfortunately, this is becoming the new normal. It is disturbing reality for Europe.

HOWELL: Sajjan Gohel, live for us in London. Thank you so much for your insights.

GOHEL: Pleasure.

WALKER: Well, as you would imagine, fear and mourning gripping Paris in the wake of unprecedented horror.

HOWELL: Coming up, a closer look at the sites that were targeted in these terror attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:21] HOWELL: There is shock and mourning in France this day following a series of deadly terror attacks across Paris. The nation is under a state of emergency. At least 153 people are dead, dozens more wounded. And officials say eight suspected attackers are dead. But it's unclear if more may have been involved. Six locations were targeted.

WALKER: And this is what we are hearing about the number of casualties according to officials, 112 people were killed at the Bataclan concert hall. At least 14 killed at Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, 19 dead outside of bistro called La Belle Equipe, and four were killed on avenue de la Republique.

HOWELL: (INAUDIBLE) was also attacked and four people were killed outside the national stadium. It is underneath north of Paris.

WALKER: And diners at that Cambodian restaurant ducked behind each other as the gunmen shot through the restaurant windows.

HOWELL: Here's what one witness saw from the street. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SETH PORGES, EYEWITNESS: I was watching out the apartment building. I believe the shootings occurred, must have while I was in the elevator. I didn't actually hear them. As soon as I get outside, there's a man crouched inside the gate of the apartment building with a bleeding hand. And my first thought was this is guy who got into a bar fight or maybe punched a window. He was bleeding from his hand, dripping. I didn't think too much of it and I kept walking.

About five steps later, I see a bunch of police. Again, it looked like normal police activity at this time. It was impossible to really tell what was really going on. There were tons of onlookers taking photos. Nobody was clearing out the streets.

And then I saw cops with guns huddled behind vans. It looked like a scene from a movie. There were about three dozen firefighters that came out of nowhere and blocked the streets for vehicle traffic. But still, there were onlookers everywhere. They weren't telling people to shoot just yet. They were talking to people and trying to ask what was going on, what did they see. Then there was a drip, drip, drip of information. Somebody said this was a shooting. OK, there's a shooting. But that's -- somebody says, no, more than one person got shot, and it was a machine gun. And he's still out there. And then you realize that there's a machine gun and he's in the neighborhood, and that's when you run. And I got out of there, let me tell you.

COOPER: Did you stay around to see how the situation ended, or did you leave?

PORGES: So I got out once I realized there was a guy with a machine gun. And I would recommend do the same. I needed to get back to my apartment building at some point, so I did a circuitous route. It was only about 30 feet from the apartment I was staying in. But those were 30 feet I did not want to cross. I was way too close as it was. I did not want to be near there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:25:09] WALKER: Quite a frightening situation.

Now, we are continuing to hear details from some of the people who witnessed Friday's attacks in Paris. Joining us by phone is Barry Mozowski, who was near the epicenter of the carnage, the Bataclan concert hall.

Barry, great to have you on the line. First off, tell us where you were and describe what you saw and what you heard.

BARRY MAZOWSKI, EYEWITNESS (on the phone): So last night I finished an air BNB conference in a beautiful Friday night in Paris. And on Friday to get out of the subway (INAUDIBLE) where I was staying. And ironically, I walked through the area where the Bataclan area is. But you wouldn't notice because there is (INAUDIBLE). And then 20 minutes after getting to my hotel room, I heard sirens staring outside the window. And instinctively, I hit the street. And I walked to rue, which is the adjoining street. And there were squadrons of police cars, SWAT teams coming in vans. And it was all descending in the area. And it was actually very scary because without understanding the context of what was going. And on the people around, French people, were saying there was a shooting and sporadic information started coming through. There was a lack of context.

And I saw a woman and her daughter that were talking to the SWAT team. And they weren't responding to her. Then she crossed the road because the police were like moving people toward me. And I said to her, "are you OK?" in broken English, she said that her son was actually in the street that the police had cordoned off. And she was very scared. I put my arm around her. And then we went into one bar. And while we were moving, the police began screaming and guns drawn (INAUDIBLE). We couldn't really see what they were looking at. So I found myself in a bar with this woman and her daughter and a couple of others. We were scared, and the door was locked. In broken English, explained to her that she understood that I was going to get her a battery charger. I ran it my hotel down the street. When I got in to my hotel, I grabbed the charger. As I tried to run back, the police had already cordoned off the street. Someone explained there were lone gunmen. And it was a tense situation. So I went into my hotel and realized there was a film crew and police outside. I wanted to give them water. So the lobby assistant in the hotel gave me a couple of bottles. And I found about six or seven people in their 30s, young people, just sitting like -- trying to look out. And I said, who are you guys doing? (INAUDIBLE) brought us water. And they explained that they live on the side where they can't get to, where the trouble is. And they were stranded. So I handed out the bottles of water to the police and film crew and then I came back inside. And all seven of us huddled in my hotel room for four hours. And it was a harrowing experience being are locals.

Their story is actually more amazing. They not in (INAUDIBLE). None of them knew each other really. There were two couples and a single woman. And they were all having dinner at a nearby restaurant. And when they heard gunshot, the restaurant owner turned the lights off and asked them to leave. They had nowhere to go. They sought refuge in this hotel. And then that's when I found them. About 3:30 to 4:00 in the morning, we were huddled in the room watching the news. And amazingly forming this fantastic friendships that I hope to last for a long time to come.

WALKER: Yes. It sounds like quite an experience. Great getting your perspective. It sounds like you're simply visiting Paris. We wish all the best. Barry Mozowski, appreciate your time. Thank you.

HOWELL: The people of Paris waking up to devastating headlines. Six terror attacks all in one night. We bring you the latest from the city that is in shock.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:32:2800] WALKER: Glad to have you back here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Amara Walker.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell. We continue with our breaking news coverage of the terror attacks in Paris. And it is about 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the city where people are waking up to their city torn apart after a series of terror attacks, and the threat may not be over.

WALKER: At this hour, France is under a state of emergency. And security is heightened. At least 153 people were killed in shootings and suicide bombings at six locations across the country.

HOWELL: The most deadly attack, an ambush at a concert hall that was filled with fans. At least 112 people died there when gunmen opened fire.

WALKER: Police later stormed the building and brought out some 100 hostages. Paris prosecutors say eight terrorists are dead, but more may have been involved.

HOWELL: CNN is live in Paris this hour. Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, standing by for us. Fred, so people are waking up, reading about these headlines today.

Even people who might have been in one of these six locations. What is the sense, you know, just given what happened?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think many people are, quite frankly, afraid and absolutely shocked at what happened. And I was able just a couple of minutes ago to speak to a gentleman who was actually inside the theater as all of this was going on. He was going to the rock concert. He says quite frankly as it started he was dancing. At the beginning, he didn't notice that this had been a terror attack. And that at some point, he realized that people were opening fire and he managed to get himself and a few others into a small room and said it was an absolutely excruciating wait of several hours that he was in there hearing these gunshots. Of course, an absolute terror as all of this was going on. Let's listen in to what some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I was upstairs, the policemen were telling us how to go. And there was especially on the ground floor a lot of dead bodies and blood. And some people had been -- had to stay for several hours among the dead corpses. They went out covered with blood. I think I was quite lucky to be upstairs. Most of the shooting was downstairs because the place was really crowded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:06] PLEITGEN: And of course on top of that at this point, it still is, as we have noted, unclear whether or not all of the attackers who were involved in these incidents, whether all of them have actually been killed at this point or whether some might still be at large.

As you said, eight of the attackers were killed. Four of them in that theater alone. But it's unclear whether or not this is part of a larger plot, whether or not there are some who are still behind this. That certainly is something that authorities here want to find out as fast as possible, George.

HOWELL: One can only imagine the terror for people who might have been in that -- in one of the buildings, one of those locations when all this happened. And they survived.

Talk to us, Fred, also just about the status of the investigation. How are French authorities responding? I know that there is a news conference later set by the French prosecutor. What's the latest?

PLEITGEN: Yes. Well exactly. There is a news conference that is going to happen later today where we expect to find out more about what the authorities at this point know. An investigation was launched almost immediately. There were some fact that the prosecutor - I will put out very quickly. For instance saying that there six sites in total targeted, but not saying whom they believe might be behind all of this. And that certainly is going to be the direction into where this investigation is going to go. One of the things, of course, that is going to be analyzed is the weapons that were used in all this. Very sophisticated weapons, very deadly weapons, military- grade weapons, assault rifles as well as at least seven suicide belts that were used as well that were detonated. So these are certainly thing where they are going to trying and find out if there is a wider network behind all of this and who might be part of the wider network if when exist.

HOWELL: And there is chatter online from different terrorist groups. But again, Fred, no official confirmation about who might have been responsible for this terrible tragedy that happened in the city of Paris.

Fred Pleitgen live for us. Fred, thank you very much for your reporting there.

We want to give you a sense now of exactly where the attacks happened within Paris.

CNN's Tom Foreman has an overview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All of the attacks took place north of the traditional tourist areas in Paris along the Champs E'Lysee, Notre Dame, that sort of thing. And the first one over here when we talk about the Bataclan theater attack, this was really quite a short distance from the old "Charlie Hebdo" offices, as you see. The Bataclan Theater holds about a thousand people, maybe a little bit more. It's a structure that would be considered a medium sized venue. And shortly before the concert began, the bass player for the bank, this American band from California tweeted out this photograph of the venue inside there. So you get a little sense of what it was like.

From street level, you see most of the buildings around it are a little taller than the theater itself. And you see the view there on the street where, of course, victims came out as they tried to flee and then later as they tried to triage people to see who had been hurt and who had been killed.

As we move further, not terribly far away, a short car ride and not a bad walk even, you get to this restaurant, Le Petit Cambodge. This is a popular restaurant in the area. It is in some tourist guide but it is not really tourist site very much. More of a local site. But it would be very crowded because it is very popular with young people there, Cambodian food being offered here.

And also a very densely populated neighborhood here in the 10th (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood in district of Paris as they would called. And then if we move on to the stadium, you are getting much further north here, which you are also getting to a much, much bigger crowd is a modern stadium, had an event underway, the soccer match, 80,000 people at this stadium. And this is where we know there was a suicide bomber, according to the authorities. Why that suicide bomber did not find the opportunity to strike more people we don't know. It is a good thing that they did not. But that will be one of the many things they try to sort out as authorities go over this geography of where the attackers came from, how they wound up where they did, and how they staged these attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Again, it is still unclear who is behind these attacks.

Joining us now is Peter Neumann. He is a director of the international center for the study of radicalization and political violence. He is also a security studies professor at Kings College in London.

Peter, great to have you on the program. I want to first start with the fact that, you know, we don't know who is behind these attacks. What do you make of the fact that there's been no claim of responsibility yet?

PETER NEUMANN, SECURITY STUDIES PROFESSOR, KINGS COLLEGE: Well, I wouldn't necessarily read too much into that. Over the past few weeks we have seen different patterns. Some attacks were very quickly claimed like the one in Egypt. Others were not claimed at all like the ones in Ankara.

What's certain is that want supporters of the Islamic state are celebrating on the Internet. We have been following these guys, and there are a lot of - there is a lot of enthusiasm out there about this attack. They are not in a position to make an official claim. But they clearly believe that it fits into their narrative. And it is something that they are happy to take responsibility for.

[04:40:15] WALKER: What do you make of the way that these attacks were carried out? I mean, clearly this was -- they were very highly coordinated. This is obviously something that must have been planned way in advance. And also the fact that you have a suicide bomber detonating right outside a football stadium while the president of France is inside. I mean, your thoughts on the fact that this happened so close to President Hollande.

NEUMANN: Yes. So it's not surprising that these attacks happened. A lot of security agencies have been very nervous in all western European countries for a number of months. It's not a surprise they happened. The facts that they happened on this scale and on this level of sophistication is, I think, a surprise to everyone. No one expected such a coordinated attack.

This is very complicated to carry out. And I think it indicates that at least some of the people that have been involved and had training or instruction from somewhere else. It is than easy to construct, for example, a functioning suicide vest. Never mind seven of them. And to set them off at more or less the same time, also the nature of the attacks. They were really completely random. With previous attacks, you could read some kind of rationale into these attacks. But with these, everyone must be thinking this could have been me. This was an ordinary restaurant. This was a football match. This was a heavy metal concert. It really was much more random than in previous instances.

WALKER: Yes. That really is a good point. And we should again mention that the most carnage happened inside the Bataclan Theater.

You know, this is a country that has had, you know, terror attacks. You know, we saw earlier at the beginning of this "Charlie Hebdo." And also, distorted train attack just over the summer. And of course, there was also beefed up security of presence because of the climate talks that are scheduled in the next month or so. I mean, so this is a country that has been vigilant when it comes to security. I mean, what could be done to keep the citizens safe?

NEUMANN: It's very difficult because in all European countries, but in France in particular, the scale of this problem is vast. You have seen over 1,500 people trying to travel to Syria and Iraq from France alone. And this is indicative of the level of support that groups like, for example, the Islamic state or other jihadist groups are enjoying in the country.

Security agencies are driving on fifth gear. And it is quite impossible for them to monitor absolutely everyone that they suspect of wanting to become involved in acts of violent extremism.

Keep in mind that in order to monitor one person, it takes about 20 people. So this is a huge scale that all European security agencies are completely overwhelmed by. So it's going to be very, very difficult for France. And by the way, also for a lot of other European countries in the months to come.

WALKER: Yes. And it's frightening when you hear analysts like you who say that this is the new normal. Very vulnerable time indeed.

Peter Neumann, appreciate your perspective. Thank you very much.

NEUMANN: Thank you very much.

WALKER: All right. We will have more breaking news coverage from Paris just ahead with the world stunned by what's unfolded there. Leaders offering their condolence and one canceling his trip to France. We'll have the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:48] HOWELL: Well, France is under a national state of emergency this hour after a series of coordinated attacks across the capital city.

WALKER: We still don't know who is behind a string of bombings and mass shootings at half a dozen soft targets across Paris or even if there are more accomplices still on the streets this hour.

HOWELL: Police officials have just given us an updated death toll. One hundred twenty eight people confirmed killed, a number we are told that may likely rise. The French president himself among those in attendance at one of the targets that were hit has convened his defense council to talk about how to respond to the attacks.

WALKER: Now, the most devastating attack was at the Bataclan concert hall. And a Paris journalist who was inside described it as ten horrific minutes as gunmen opened fire.

HOWELL: Concertgoers were watching an American rock band when terrorists stormed the building.

WALKER: Four attackers died when police raided the concert hall. Another man who was inside during the ambush explains what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The concert started for half an hour when we heard the noise like firecrackers. We turned around and saw two young guys. They were pretty far away, but they were two guys with Kalashnikovs rifles. They were shouting at the crowd. We all laid down on the floor. There were panic. There was screams. And they kept shouting again and again.

Over on the right side of the stage, one door was opened. And we all tried to rush in. There was a staircase. We got stuck behind five to ten minutes, and then up there, we saw some doors that people tried to force open. But those doors just entered into some dressing rooms.

Someone managed to finally open the access for the roof, and then we rushed to the roof where we were waiting. And then a man who had his apartment facing the roof opened his window and he let us crawl through. And we stayed in there in the dark, waiting for things to pass. But we could keep on hearing the noise of explosions, shouting, guns, and screaming without really knowing what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: To hear the fear there, and he was waiting to crawl through to escape for his life. You can only imagine what people went through.

WALKER: Yes. So many terrifying stories we are hearing.

Well, French president Francois Hollande calls the attacks unprecedented. But they are not the only acts of terrorism to strike France this year. Sixteen people were killed when Islamic extremists attacked the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" and a kosher grocery store over the span of three days in January. A police officer was also killed during a traffic stop.

HOWELL: And less than a month later, an attacker stabbed two soldiers on the streets of Nice. French intelligence had been aware of the attacker and were alerted when he had flown to Turkey days before and was turned back.

WALKER: And in April, a student called an ambulance after he had injured himself only to have French authorities arrive and discover weapons, ammunition, and evidence of plans to target churches under the direction of someone in Syria.

HOWELL: Then two months after that, a delivery employee who had been on a terror watch list drove a van to a factory setting off a blast. A severed head was found hanging from a fence. WALKER: And then in August, two members of the U.S. military and a

French national overpowered a gunman on board a high-speed train. He had reportedly met twice with French ISIS fighters in Turkey just months before.

[04:50:00] WALKER: Several world leaders have condemned the attacks including German chancellor Angela Merkel who responded in the past couple of hours. Listen --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): I would like to tell all the French people, we the German friends, we are so close for you. We cry for you. We will fight the battle against terror. In my thoughts there are 160 people whose lives have been taken and their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Iran has also condemned the attacks, and President Hassan Rouhani has postponed a scheduled trip to France. Foreign minister (INAUDIBLE) told Iranian state-run news that it is best now focus on fighting terrorism and that Rouhani will travel to Europe in the future.

HOWELL: British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted this. I am shocked by the events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can help.

And NATO's secretary general also released this statement saying, I am deeply shocked by the horrific terrorist attacks across Paris tonight. We stand strong and united in the fight against terrorism which will never defeat democracy.

WALKER: And Russian president Vladimir Putin has also condemned the attacks and offered assistance with the investigation.

HOWELL: And people across France are waking up to a national state of emergency and a national day of mourning. After a break, we will take a look at how the country is grieving yet another massacre this year.

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[04:54:19] WALKER: And French president Francois Hollande just had a making with his defense council to discuss his country's response. Here he is speaking.

HOLLANDE (through translator): I have made a decree for national mourning of three days, all measures to protect our citizens and territory in the framework of the state of emergency. The internal security forces and the army to whom I pay respects will take -- took the action yesterday in order to neutralize the terrorists. The army and internal security forces will be mobilized at the highest level. And I've ensured that all measures are strengthened at the maximum scale, the military will patrol in the middle of Paris throughout the coming days. France because she was attacked in cowardice and shame and violently. France will be pitiless concerning and using all its means in the framework of law and all means. And on the whole, internal and external territory together with our allies who are aimed at -- in this serious painful decisive prayer for life.

I call on unity. Joining together to keep our cool, and I call on the parliament and Versailles Congress on Monday to bring the nation together in this trial. France is strong, particularly wounded, but always rises up against and nothing can damage her despite the grief. France is solid, is active. France is valiant and will triumph over this barbarity. History talk of the strength we have to mobilize.

Dear compatriots, what we're defending is a country, the values of humanity. France will undertake her responsibilities, and I call on you for this essential unity.

Long live Republique, long live France.

HOWELL: The French president Francois Hollande basically calling for unity, saying that France is strong, saying that France, nothing can damage her. And saying that France will stand firm and pitiless, as she'd, in the pursuit of law.

WALKER: Yes. And in terms of the security, you heard the president say in the framework of the state of emergency that has been declared, he has mobilized the military at the highest level, and that citizens should see more manpower out this in the streets as they will be patrolling Paris in the coming days to give the citizens a sense of security that they are being protected in this fearful and vulnerable time.

HOWELL: We thank you for watching this hour. I'm George Howell.

WALKER: I'm Amara Walker. We'll have more coverage from Paris after the break.

Stay with us.

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