they are restricting, according to french television, anyone from leaving the soccer stadium because it is still, of course, a fluid situation. there was one, maybe two explosions at the stadium which is about half an hour north of paris. and a lot -- although they could hear the explosions, a lot of people, kelly, reportedly did not know that it was an explosion. they thought maybe it was fireworks. as you know, they are very passionate fans. it is a match between germany and france. and so people didn't realize at first what was going on. but authorities did. that blast reportedly, according to nbc news, occurred at a mcdonald's which is basically on the stadium property. but not in the stadium. that is at least what we have on that. so they are keeping people on the field, in the stadium. they want them, according to one source, down on the field, not up in the stands. and the reason that they basically kept playing the match is because they didn't know it

was an explosion at the time. they thought it was simply fireworks. the update is still 100 hostages at the -- the concert hall. now they are saying that the hostages were attending a band. it was a band concert. and that -- we don't know how many people were there but we do have police saying that they think it is about 100 hostages. there are reports from bf mtv that said 40 dead. police are sticking with 35. so we are sticking with 35 at least at this point. according to the white house, the president was briefed by lisa monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism. and this is against the back drop of an official telling nbc news they believe the various attacks, maybe as many as four, but at least three, were coordinated. kelly. >> sue and thank you to quote

reuters, you mentioned this concert, people being held hostage at a concert hall in central paris. this apparently, the shooting there began an hour into the concert of a california rock group called eagles of death metal. according to french news channel bfm tv. so it was a california rock group. if this is correct, that was playing there when the situation -- when the shootings began. now we know upwards of 100 hostages with 35 deaths. for now, thank you. we'll bring in nbc investigator reporter bob wind ram. bob, just absolutely awful, sickening events taking pla here in paris. and this just topped the violence we saw in january. >> yes. i think what you have here is something that is -- it is very critical to watch this for a number of reasons. one season is that you have multiple near simultaneous attacks. that is not something that isis

has done before. that is not their trademark. their trademark are the single one-on-one attacks. this is, however, the trademark of al qaeda. and what you have to remember is that this is also -- all of this is very close to the offices of charlie hebdo, which, as you recall, was al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. so the question is, is this al qaeda resurgent or something new in isis. and i think either one of those is going to be -- is going to be very important, very significant for u.s. and western intelligence to get into. and we have to understand right now that this has been a successful terrorist attack. multiple simultaneous attacks are not easy to carry out. >> and bob, also we -- when it comes to isis, we have been accustomed to hearing immediate

claims of responsibility on social media from what we could tell so far, there is nothing like that? >> no. we've been checking nbc's consultant on this, flash point intelligence has been checking the social media. they have found nothing other than some sympathizers rejoicing. but in terms of any sort of claim of responsibility, there is nothing that we have seen, nothing that our consultants have seen. and at this point, in talking to u.s. intelligence and homeland security, there is nothing that they can add to this right now in terms of responsibility. so at this point in time, it is a successful terrorist attack on behalf of the terrorist. it is a simultaneous, multiple-event attack and a large-scale and a large-scale death toll. so this is something that is

going to be very critical for u.s. and western intelligence to understand. is this al qaeda resurgent? is this a new stage for isis or is it something completely new? in addition to the large scale and the successes of this, this has to be seen as something that is very, very different than what we have seen in recent years. >> bob, this is mike santoli here with kelly. just to get back to the idea of whether paris for whatever reason might be seen as a ripe target by whatever group might be responsible here, is there anything we can take away from the fact that perhaps it is seen as being somewhat vulnerable? >> well, i think, as your previous guest said, any western city is somewhat vulnerable. it is because of the freedom of movement that -- that werners have that make -- westerners

have that makes these attacks easier to carry out. and if you look at something like this, you could also presume there was a significant amount of planning in this. this was not something that was thrown together in a couple of days. if history is any judge. this is something that was put together over a while. over maybe weeks, months. and so it is hard to tell what the motivation might be. was there a particular event? that is very hard to tell, i think, at this point. >> bob, one thing you mentioned is that no matter what happens in the hours ahead and in finding those responsible, that this is already a successful large-scale attack. what kind of international response do you expect with world leaders descending on paris in two weeks for the climate summit? >> well i think you have a couple of things here. first of all, you have to determine who is responsible. and once -- and there could be a

claim of responsibility, which would facilitate that, of course. but once that has been determined, then i think you will see a -- an effort -- a redoubling of effort to get whoever has done this and return the -- return, if not vengeance, then certainly deal in accountability for an attack like this. and you may very well see the climate summit also have side meetings, let's say, among world leaders on what kind of -- what kind of response there should be and what kind of joint operations there might be. again, this is -- this is something that is either resurgent al qaeda or a new stage for isis. and both of those things are quite troubling. >> is there any other group that fathomly could be responsible? >> nothing that comes to mind. i mean, as i noted earlier,

multiple near simultaneous attacks that's long been the trademark of al qaeda or al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. the u.s. intelligence and western intelligence and western military have been very successful in the last year in going after the leadership of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, particularly after the charlie hebdo attacks. so again, you just don't know what the motivation is. you don't know what the trigger is. but what you can assume is that, as you noted, there is a meeting of world leaders in a couple of weeks in paris and there is no better stage than that sort of function to have the -- to have the leadership of the west take -- take new action here. >> bob, thank you for joining us. >> sure thing. >> that is nbc reporter bob rind

ram by phone. let's bring in michelle car usa cab era, also following the story. >> and as bob was saying, coordinated attacks, near simultaneous, unprecedented and a much larger scale than what we saw related to the charlie hebdo situation earlier in the year. what i would add is remember that europe is in the midst of this migratory crisis with the situation in syria leading to thousands and hundreds of thousands trying to get into europe. and we have no indication as to who did this yet or what the motivation is, but you can assume that many, many europeans will jump to the conclusion that it is related to immigrants and issues happening in the middle east. so that is certainly going to raise what is already an incredibly tense situation, countries grappling with what to do with the situation, this will add another layer of complexity to that. >> michelle, mike santoli here,

what is the inference there. in other words is it going to harden the line of public sentiment against this kind of thing or are we talking about to whatever degree france is involved in whatever middle eastern conflicts that are underway? >> well what i'm making reference to is that parts of europe have been very hospitable and taking in immigrants throughout the year. and there have already been questions as to whether or not that should have been allowed because now they have passports that give them access across all kinds of borders, across europe it. makes it easy for them to move around. and then if you question what their loyalty is and that is what is going to happen, whether it is right or wrong, then you start to question, should we continue this. >> president obama, we want to add, will be making a statement at 5:45, in five minutes time about what is happening in paris at this moment. michelle, you bring up a great point and one that -- the

symbolism of the france-germany soccer match. angela merkel has been cite sized in germany and beyond by the open approach they have taken. opening the european union to the migrants, for anybody who felt that was too generous and dangerous, and now this. >> right, exactly. and let's remind everybody, we don't know who did this. but we assume that a lot of people are going to think that it is related to some kind of terrorism related to the middle east. so let's put that out there. and that is why this is going to be -- going to need to make that distinction and put her in a more difficult position than she's been in. her finance minister has -- [ inaudible ]. >> we're losing the connection with michelle there. we'll work to restore that as soon as we can. first let's bring in former white house counter-terrorism official roger cressly joining

us as we follow what is happening in paris. roger, we've heard a number of people sharing their analysis here that something like this has the trademark, as bob rind ram put it, of al qaeda. and we know al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was responsible for the charlie hebdo attacks. without venturing into what we don't know, what can you tell us about what you see talking pl - taking place here. >> well as bob does, he ello kwebtly lays out the key issues here so i agree with him. what is striking about all of this, it is not that the french have been on their heels since charlie hebdo and turned the page. they have been in a very high-operational environment and very worried. the aftermath of charlie hebdo led to a series of policy changes and more funding for counter-terrorism and a reem face for them. and what is striking for them is this type of attack could take

place in france in the aftermath of charlie hebdo reflects how permissible of an environment has come for -- if you believe it, islamic militants to operate. and the points about the number of grants -- imgrants, i hate to use the term sophistication, but there was none extensive element to this type of planning and execution of operation that regardless of who is responsible is a pretty damning indictment on the security situation inside of france right now and it is extremely chilling. >> roger, you were in the white house politics here, that is one avenue that people look to to address the situation and express their anger about it. we've seen the rise of course of anti-immigration kinds of parties across europe. look to the scandinavian countries that once threw their doors open and have been shutting the border and others just like americans here will say, just simply not comfortable

with the way their country has changed. how does this further affect the political landscape in the near term and long-term across france and europe. >> in terms of the u.s. political election, you are going to see the same type of flame throwing and rhetoric that you've heard so far. so i don't expect any sophistication effort to come out of this. what i do believe though is that in europe it will cause a number of governments to review current policies, much like we talked about with angela merkel and decide how do these effect the long-term planning when it comes to the immigration issue. and this type of attacks taking place from a security perspective is very, very disconcerting. because the french are quite good at their job when it comes to counter-terrorism. they have -- they have disrupted a number of different blot plots. most recently in plume.

and still this was able to be successfully conducted -- counter-terrorism should be worried about. >> and we are showing on injury screen, on the right, the white house and then on the left a live feed from france. take us inside of the white house. the early response to what we assume are very few details to this point about the attack and a big decision coming about going to par nis a couple of weeks -- paris in a couple of weeks. >> to that point first, kelly, the president -- as bob rind ram said earlier, the opportunity nor a number -- for a number of world leaders to show solidarity for the french and underscore the commitment to counter-terrorism and do it in an environment where they are not intimidated by this type of attack is very important. but in terms of what is going on in the white house right now, it is about facts. getting the president and his senior staff the facts. what actually is happening on the ground. and then of course what type of

support we could provide the french. what else is going on is the intelligence community is reviewing their data base of information. i'm sure they knew that there was a heightened level of concern in france right now. and they are going to try and draw any type of connections to the information they have about potential other locations and also what they could share with the french to help them in their investigation. because the investigation on this is probably going to take a fair amount of time and it is going to be very complex. >> and i don't want to bring up a politically charged issue, but -- well there is president obama. >> i just want to make a few brief comments about the attacks across paris tonight. once again we've seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. this is an attack not just on paris, it is an attack not just on the people of france, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.

we stand prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance that the government and the people of france need to respond. france is our oldest ally. the french people have stood shoulder to shoulder with the united states time and again. and we want to be very clear that we stand together with them in the fight against terrorism and extremism. paris itself represents the timeless values of human progress. those who think that they could terrorize the people of france for the values they stand for are wrong. the american people draw strength from the french people's commitment to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. we are reminded in this time of tragedy that the bonds of libertarian and unitarian are

not only values that the french people care so deeply about but they are values that we share and those values will endure far beyond any act of terrorism or the hateful vision of those who perpetrated the crimes this evening. we're going to do whatever it takes to work with the french people and with nations around the world to bring these terrorisms to justice -- terrorists to justice and go after any terrorist networks that go after our people. we don't yet know all of the details of what has happened. we have been in contact with french officials to communicate our deepest condolences to the families of those who have been killed. to offer our prayers and thoughts to those who have been wounded. we have offered our full support to them. the situation is still

unfolding. i've chosen not to call president holland at this time because my expectation is that he is very busy at the moment. i actually, by coincidence, was talking to him earlier today in preparation for the g-20 meeting. but i am confident that i'll be in direct communications with him in the next few days and will be coordinating in any ways that they think are helpful in the investigation of what has happened. this is a heartbreaking situation and obviously those of us here in the united states know what it's like. we've gone through these kind of episodes ourselves. and whenever these kinds of attacks happened, we've always been able to count on the french people to stand with us. they have been an extraordinary counter-terrorism partner. and we intend to be with them in that same fashion.

i'm sure that in the days ahead we'll learn more about exactly what happened and my teams will make sure that we are in communication with the press to provide you accurate information. i don't want to speculate at this point in terms of who was responsible for this. it appears there may still be live activity and dangers that are taking place as we speak. and so until we know from french officials that the situation is under control and we have more information about it, i don't want to speculate. okay. thank you very much. >> president obama asked if there was any change in plans but he and other g-20 leaders will be as of now going to paris for climate talks in just a couple of week's time. now of course an unfolding situation with multiple attacks in paris. 100 hostages in one of those situations. let's get to eamon javers in washington with more.

>> the president was very careful not to ascribe blame to any particular organization. he said the time will come to do the investigation to find out all of the details. he said that he did not call president holland of france because the president is obviously fully engaged in the situation at the moment so he is not going to make that phone call just yet. something else to bring you up to speed on here while the president was speaking, we got a statement here from the ranking member of the house intelligence committee. and while the president was saying he is not ready to ascribe any particular blame for this situation, adam schiff, the democratic congressman, the ranking member on house intelligence did say the following. he said given the disturbing similarities to other attacks, this clearly coordinated series of violent acts bears all of the hallmarks of international terrorism. many hundreds of french citizens have traveled to syria and iraq and the risk from those who return is well-known and severe. i'll continue to be briefed as details emerge. i want to express my deepest sim

paths to the french people and victims and families. and also getting now a tweet from the paris city government to citizens of paris citizens, telling them to stay home in the wake of attacks. officials there want to keep the streets clear so they avoid any potential collateral damage or additional confusion as they respond to multiple incidents here in different parts of the city. a very complex scene now in paris for law enforcement and national security officials to respond to and they are therefore asking the citizens of paris to stay home at this point, kelly. >> thank you. now nor, eamon javers in washington. let's bring in covert operations officer mike baker on the phone. mike, what does this situation remind you of? >> well, it reminds me of other attacks in the previous -- that the other previous guests talked about, carried out about al qaeda and aqap and al-nusra.

the methodology doesn't vary much when you talk about attacks of this nature. and the islamic extremist groups that we just referred to have favored this type of approach in the past. so it is not a big stretch, although again as the president and other people have mentioned, it is best not to speculate at this state. but it is not ate stretch to -- a stretch to imagine a scenario in which this could be adaq. and possibly islamic state, it could show a new attack but it is not a big stretch of the imagination to imagine the attacks. >> this is a live situation. you have 100 hostages and to figure out what they are being used for. one of the earlier guests mentioned it could be money or escape or political recognition or to die for a cause. and so the group responsible has a lot of bearing on how the situation would be handles, no? >> absolutely. and that is what the hostage negotiators on the scene there,

the first thing you are trying to do is to secure the perimeter and understand the extent inside and determine the numbers of the hostiles inside, the hardware they are carrying. and look to get any statements from people who may have been inside and who were able to escape. and then you start to lock it down. you start to try to establish communication as quickly as possible with the hostage-takers. and that is critical. you have to get a line of communication going immediately. you have to try to establish a relationship as much as possible. to try to both possibly bring it to a peaceful solution, but also to gather all of the intel that you could from those discussions and negotiations to try to determine whether a rescue is feasible. >> we also, as eamon just told us, suggesting people in the city should stay home tonight.

and we have the question of what happens overnight. we're seeing president holland speaking on french television after huddling with his top poll say-makers and it did take several days in the past to solve the situation and the question in paris right now is what to do. >> exactly. and they are doing what they need to do. shelter in place and stay in their apartments. they want to keep people off the streets. they have to determine how many terrorists there were involved in this, in the multiple sites. they have to make a determination as to how many are still roaming around and that is a heavy list because you are trying to gather information from panicked individuals on the street who notoriously, they are witness statements, very difficult to rely on sometimes. you are trying to gather all you could and the surveillance footage that is possible but you have to determine where the terrorists may have disbursed

too and the concern is are there follow-on attacks planned. >> and we remember from the boston bombing how that shut down the transit system down around boston, affecting millions of people until it was resolve and you brought up the issue if this inspired copycats. we saw what happened in january, the same concern and now this. and now 35 deaths. 100 hostages. mike, just a final comment on where this leaves paris in terms of its vulnerability and the symbolism going forward? >> well, you talk about the environment where you can minimize the risk. you have heightened concerns because of again -- all sort of issues, as you pointed out earli earlier, related to the incoming number of refugees and immigrants into the city. and it was talked about the potential security problems trying to vet all of those people. they didn't need the incoming refugees. they have a large disaffected

population that they know isis and the al qaeda and others have been trying to krut from. so they know they have a problem there for some time. the intel service there in france, the police, law enforcement, military, are extremely, extremely good. but you just cannot lockdown an urban environment the size of paris and reduce the risk to zero. and this is the sort of scenario you are alzheimer-- concerned a >> thank you, mike baker. we showing president holland speaking on television. he is apparently closing the french borders. let's bring in frank gaffney, under secretary of defense under president reagan. frank, this is a huge move. >> it is. it's a little bit of a barn door after the horse has gone, i'm afraid. but it is an indication of what i believe is a corrective to the

policies that the french government, among others in europe, have been engaged in for sometime. and by that i don't mean just the border situation, kelly. i'm talking about really the notion that they can, with complete indifference, allow the infusion into their society of vast numbers of people, long before those recent immense tidal wave of refugees, but over the decades now. large and very unassimilated populations of people who embrace what i think we're going to find is the program of the attackers here. they call it sherria, a supremacist doctrine offize lack that is designed to force through violence where possible a submission of nonmuslim populations. that is what i think the french are up against.

and frankly, much of europe is at the moment. and unless and until they close their borders, it is going to only get worse. and this is, i suspect, the first of many challenges that the french and others will face in this regard. and by the way, president obama has in mind bringing 100,000 or more of the folks who are susceptible to the same kind of agenda here to the united states without vetting and i think increasing immeasurably the danger we're going to face as well. >> what you just gave voice to is the central challenge for western countries, whether somebody was activated within the country. if it turns out that these are people who came into the country affiliated with another group, does that change the tenor of your remarks as opposed to as if it was somebody who lived in paris? >> it doesn't really. and frankly, it doesn't change whether it is one particular faction or group or sect of

islam. it is a global jihad movementment and as mike was just saying. there are plenty of people who have, i believe,en viewed with this tot totalitarian program on those in france. it could have been them. it could have been imports. i don't know at this point. >> thank you for joining us. for those of you just joining us on cnbc top of the hour. there's been a series of terrorist attacks in paris. it's 6:00 p.m. new york time, midnight in the french capital. 35 people have been killed and a hundred hostages being held inside a concert hall. sue herera has more. >> indeed. i think it bears