york city, the site of the worst terrorist attack on american soil, in solidarity tonight with the french. bathed in the colors of the french flag. blue, white, and red. >> and as the portrait of this terror begins to emerge, we'll jump into the latest details. at least 153 people believed dead, all attackers believed edd dead. witnesses say they were yelling yelling syria. >> and confrontations taking locations. an unbelievably coordinated planned attack. no one has yet claimed responsibility, but this comes

after a two-week period where isis has claimed responsibility for the bomb on the russian plane two weeks ago and the attack in lebanon yesterday which killed 43. >> and president obama saying we're in solidarity with the french. but we begin with what one eyewitness called a horror movie that would not stop. it was a typical friday in paris. some heading to dinner, or a soccer match, or a concert. but then, paris under siege. the first attack reportedly occurs at a popular french restaurant, with live jazz music. gunmen opening fire with automatic weapons, reportedly

and across town, the soccer game between france and germany under way. the stadium was packed. the president of france also there. then, 16 minutes into the first half, an explosion. so loud, it stops players in their tracks. a stadium announcer tells to crowd to avoid certain exits due to events outside. >> i heard two very loud explosions. you may be aware, at soccer games, sometimes there are fireworks that are loud. but are not dangerous. this time around, the explosion was so loud, we thought something probably happened. >> reporter: the french president stunned, his hand to his face. he's evacuated to safety. and police later find one of the explosions was carried out by a suicide bomber.

and a little bit over five miles away, the bataclan concert hall, the american band eagles of death maetal performing. a brother of one of the band mates speaking out tonight. >> he said they were playi about six songs into the show, and they heard before they saw anything, automatic machine gunfire. and so loud, it was louder than the band. >> reporter: and according to what a witness tells french tv, a gunman could be heard shouting allahu akbar. then, president obama addresses the nation. >> france is our oldest ally. the french people have stood shoulder to shoulder with us

time and time again. and we stand with them. >> reporter: and explosions heard outside the concert hall. french police troops have started to storm the theater. and then, reports the siege is over. at least 100 people killed according to tv reports. three terrorists confirmed dead. and we now now, there were at let's six locations across the city of paris. and one of them, a restaurant where they were eating dinner. >> a crowded restaurant. and joining us, charlotte brejo. and 14 people killed, it was a small, packed restaurant. what did you see, where were you sitting? >> i sat right against the windows, so next to the street

i was sat with one friend, and we immediately heard loud gunshots. everybody dropped to the floor, it felt like it wasn't happening, it didn't feel real. i'm shocked to hear how many are dead, because i wasn't really aware that people had, so many people had been fatally wounded. the first realization i had, i was holding on to a woman and asking if she was okay. holding her hand. and i realized she wasn't breathing, or struggling to breathe. and when i felt safe enough to look up, i realized there was a pool of blood surrounding her. i thought she had been shot in the chest. and it was really awful. really awful.

we're glad you described it. you say they were driving by as restaurant? >> i wasn't aware that they were driving by, but they didn't come into the restaurant. they were just outside. it didn't seem like they stopped and went to reload their guns, and there was another round. so, it was slightly delayed. but they didn't come in. >> and at that pointwhen they stopped to reload, did people try to run for safety? were you stunned into silence and paralysis at that point? >> yeah, absolutely, it was paralysis. and i think people were so confused, almost waiting for somebody to give some kind of

it was such bewilderment, such a relaxed restaurant, no one was expecting it, and no one knew what to do. so, it was just horrific and shocking. >> and we know the president of france has asked families across france to stay indoors. all public buildings will be closed beginning tomorrow for the foreseeable future. what is it like looking out your window tonight? a stunned community across paris? >> yes. i mean, all night, i haven't slept, just been listening to ambulances driving around. i only live 15 minutes from the restaurant and concert hall. i'm in the thick of it. and i imagine everybody is feeling the same, and the feeling i felt, i feel it's similar to the atmosphere that was in paris in january during

just people feeling scared and strange. >> and how did you get out of there and then what did you see? >> well, my first priority was my friend. i couldn't see him, he was under the table. i was worried he had been shot. when i saw he was okay, i said get up. i felt like they had gone, and i was just going with my instinct. and it was luckily the right decision. they weren't in the street, and i said get up and go, just run. and because i live close, we just ran straight to my house. we were one of the first people to go. but like i said, everyone was stunned, frozen on the floor. no one wanted to move, because people were scared, thought

>> an astonishingly frightening evening for you. thank you for joining us. and 14 dead in the restaurant where she was dining. but the most casualties were in a concert hall, the concert had just begun when gunshots rang out. with the capacity of 1,500 people. they had just heard automatic gunfire. >> the eagles of death metal were playing at the bataclan. hundreds of fans had gathered when suddenly, three or four gunmen stormed in and started shooting into the crowd.

about six songs into the show. heard automatic machine gunfire, louder than the band. and they all hit the stage floor, they saw men with guns just kind of shooting at anything, and everything. there was a door, back of the stage. that led to a street. and they fled out the back door. >> reporter: witnesses reporting minutes. some escaping as the gunmen started to reload. >> tn the shots kept continuing, and i saw people starting to panic. people were running away. and i could see from where i was, from the balcony, downstairs, where the shots had come from. i couldn't see anything, i just heard the shots.

started panicking. that's when i ducked, went behind the seats. and i took my friend's hand, and we made our way to an exit. >> reporter: while many escaped, others were trapped behind, held hostage. >> at the time they started killing individuals, and you know they're killing individuals, you must go in. >> reporter: fbi hostage negotiator, aaron sanchez. >> you try to think how many will be saved, and how many more will be threatened. >> reporter: just before midnight, french forces overpowered the gunmen. but not before at least 100 members of the audience were killed.

and three of the terrorist, prepared to die tonight. people who were on the scene after they managed to get in called it a blood bath, looked like a war zone. and the decision to go in, they were sure the terrorists were ready to kill. we need to go in and save as many as we can. >> and we've reported many times on these situations. it's a real struggle, based on the fact that people could lose their lives. and ginny watson, we're glad you're okay. can you describe the aftermath inside the concert hall? >> all i can say is that i was there when it started. concert. because the eagles of death metal are a band i really like. and i was there with a friend, we were in the middle of the concert.

then all of a sudden, this huge shootout started. it was a high-pitched shootout. myself, never being in a shootout in my life, i thought it was a joke. i thought the band was playing a joke on us, and i didn't believe it at first. but then i saw people screaming, and i was on the first floor of the venue. i wasn't down at the bottom. so, i heard all the shots and they were consistent. they were a lot of shots, and didn't stop. and that's when i realized, maybe we have to leave. with my friend, i took her hand, we ducked, hid behind the seats, and managed to, you know, slip away through the safety exit that was near to where we were. there was a panic. but we managed to escape in the street.

blood, and people had, you know, bullet wounds in their legs. it was, it wasn't nice. >> we heard one eyewitness in the thear with you in the concert hall with you, describe how the gunmen were going down and executing people one by one. did you see anything like that? >> no, that's what's keeping me awake. it's 4:00 a.m. in paris, and i feel so strange because the weirdest thing is, i didn't panic, i just heard. i didn't see the people. i just heard these consistent gunshots, which were kalashnikovs, like bang, bang, bang.

>> so, no break to reload? >> yes, they kept firing. it was obvious, we were in the first floor, the balcony. and it was obvious they were underneath. and i said to my friend, what the hell is that? and she said, i don't know. and we didn't take it seriously. but everybody started panicking, and we realized it was serious, and those shooters were actually, you know, coming up to the first floor as well. and i don't know how, i mean, you know, the universe was in my favor. i managed to escape without being harmed. and i crossed paths with wounded people, a girl with a bullet wound in her thigh. it was horrible. >> and there have been reports that the gunman, the attackers were shouting as they were

i'm curious, did you hear them shouting anything? we haven't seen any images from inside the theater, nor do we want to. but do you know how many people they had been able to get to? >> i don't think anybody was filming, nobody wants to film that. i didn't hear anything, because i was onhe first floor. i didn't hear anything, i didn't hear anything, nothing. nothing like that. all i know is that people were firing guns, and we had to get out. >> and was it pan dedemonium to get out? >> well, people were crying, but

it wasn't like people were getting trampled. i didn't feel trampled or squashed. i just made my way to the safety exit, which i saw, when i was there. and we were all going down the staircase to get out. and at one point, the people down towards the doors, they stopped them for a while, saying they were there. and they opened them like a minute later, and everybody ran out in a panic. we all ran out in different directions. >> and you know that several people were held hostage, you know how lucky you were that you got out. >> i know, and people held hostage were people i knew. the person i was with was a friend, and she works in the music industry. and her friends are the people

since escapeing, we've had messages and e-mails and facebook messages from people trapped in the -- oh, i can't find the word in english. the place where you get changed. >> dressing rooms. >> exactly. >> thank you for joining us. what a frightening ordeal. and we want to apologize for some of the colorful language she used. she was obviously in a frightening situation. >> and we understand why she's time. i can't imagine anyone in that city sleeping right now. and i want to bring in louise dewase right now. you heard the explosions, and

intelligence officials telling us the s.w.a.t. teams knew they had to get in there. >> reporter: that's correct. i heard about 12 loud bangs. shortly after, ambulances rushing towards the theater. i was able to follow some of them and i could see firefighters evacuating people from the second floor, taking them to this makeshift hospital in a cafe nearby. and i saw people coming out, looking terrified, with blood on their t-shirts, many on the relatives. and a sense of tragedy here on the streets of paris tonight. >> and we can see the police presence. you've been held back quite a ways earlier. have you been allowed to get any

and have you had any information about what remains inside the concert hall? do we knownything about the people who were targeted inside >> well, following the terrorist attacks on the "charlie hebdo" magazine in january, police are extremely careful. and they've closed the entire neighborhood, and no one is allowed to get any closer to the theater. no information at this stage on what is happening right now. we did see, however,ome buses early o o taking all the people that had been evacuated to a nearby hospital to be taken care of over there. but definitely, a lot of activity on the streets tonight. >> and hospital workers across paris called in to work. the metro, the paris train, closed down.

the whole city shut down for t t next several days. >> all public gatherings, closed. and the borders are sealed in france. declare declared. and we're joined by pierre thomas, who's been working his sources all evening. give us the latest. >> tonight, law enforcement has beben the hunt for clues. they need to know right now. the question tonight, who did it? on the short list, al qaeda and isis. just last january, there was a spree of terror in france. two brothers forcing their way into the offices of "charlie

and al qaeda, claiming responsibility for the assault, saying that one of the brothers had received training from them. and another man, killed after police stormed a supermarket. his partner, believed to have fled to syria. >> t ts is very similar to attacks in the fast from al qaeda and isis. it wouldn't surprise me if it was either an al qaeda affiliate or isis. >> reporter: and most recently fixatend on blowing up commercial airplanes. and al qaeda has been working on

their blood lust is confined to just aviation. remember t attack in 2008? a series of attacks over a series of nightmarish hours. but isis, consumimi huge swaths of land, forming the so-called islamic state. and a social media campaign unprecedented. more than 1,500 french citizens affiliated with isis, a quarter of the european total. this past july, this video threatening thathe group wilil

bringg slaughter to france. many firstame to the country following the colonial wars of independent in the countries of algeria and tunisia. in 1961, the french police shot and killed some 200 pro-algeriri demonstrators. today, t suburbsf paris have a muslim population center. hot beds of unrest. >> and individuals comeing and assimilating into the f fnch culture.e. >> department 93, a large group

that feels cut off from french society. and 60% estimated of prisoners are affiliated. >> one of the challenges that will be faced is stopping hate crimes. >> u.s.s officials have been concerned abobo al qaeda bombers, isis, and so-called lone wolves. the pressure incredible, as they scenarios. >> and joined by brian ross. the big debate beginning after the attacks, al qaeda, isis. what are your sources telling us? >> well, the main focus isisis. more than 1,000 sympathizers. and just a wealth of people who would be available. and recently, threats from isis in social media t bring

>> and what do you make of the reports that some were yelling syria in the theater? >> well, they have the dna and fingerprprts of the attackers. so, we'll know much more tomorrow. >> and the threat and fear here in america. the so-called soft targets, that that's the fear here in america. >> we also have richard clark here, and rich, talk about the sophistication of the attack. what it took to almost simultaneously have six attacks go under way in paris tonight. >> a complicated attack, because

different targets at more or less t same time. indicating a group with training, possibly people returning froro fighting in syria. they look like they have had training to be able to pull off this kind of simultaneous, complex attack in the heart of a major city. >> probably four, maybe five of the terrorists killed so far. how many people do you think were involved in this? >> probably not many more than this. the mumbai attackk in india, a handful of people staged this kind of running attack, and then ending up at one venue, where they took hostages for their last stand. that was not al qaeda, it was a pakistani group.

but this has been well learned and practiced by isis in syria and iraqaq anddhe french didn't see it coming. only way you can stop these attacks on soft targets, kno it's coming and arrest people before they do it. if the french didn't have any indication the attack was about to happen, that's very disturbing, because it means we may be in the same situation. we know who the suspects are, but we may not k kw allf the isis people. >> and that's the frightening part. these are soft targets. unless you catch them before, youi want to bring in martha raddatz.

but these groros may be now competing witit o o anotherer for global attention. >> it almost seems that way. al qaeda hasn't been in the news as much. and they want to get back. they want to make a big splash. so, they're looking at all these possibilities. i do think someone shouting syria is possibly a very big clue. france, like the u.s., has been targeting isis inn syria. so, that may give investigators some clue, becse isis would have motive here. >> and that was an american band on stage from california. we know a relative of one of the band members told our affiliate

and the band is safe. they were able to get out of a backckdoor. >> they had a stage door there, they could tell what was going on in that concert hall. they turned and ran. and that's very good for them, because they are the lucky ones. we've already heard how many people died in that concert hall, at least 100, they're saying, within that hall itself. >> and talking about that concert hall, i'd like to bring in brad garrett, formerly with the fbi. and brad, talk us through the decision by french s.w.a.t. teams to storm this hall when they did. they had terrorists inside, armed to the hilt. killing people. and more than 100 hostages. when do you decide when to go? what's the calculation there? >> it's all based when you have enough information about what u're walking into. you u n't want to w wk into a

so, i think they had enough time to interview people that had escaped from the theater. what did you see? did you see explosives? were they rigging doors? all these questions. while those debriefs are going on, you have a team of techess getting cameras and mikes in there. and then you're probably going in. we know they're not coming out, they're going to blow themselves up or stay in there. once you get that information, you have reporting of multiple explosions. those are flash bangs, the key of it i i to disorient the bad guys.

bead and shoot somebody. >> an excruciateing decision. and john cohen, a lot of people want to know about football games this weekend. we've already learned about heightened concern over soft targets in all of our communities. >> fbi and dhs have already provided information to state and local authorities. but they won't wait, they're going to be assessing what events, what security needs are necessary within their own communities. the public should expect heightened security, and in big ties, think the police presence will be significant. >> and it's worth noting that

saying tonight, absolutely no chatter pointing to any attack in paris. so, this caught everyone totally off-guard. >> and i want to show you an incredibly moving scene from the stadium. all the soccer fans, ontaneously beginning t t sing the french national anthem. lot more as we continue our coverage here.

back.

and we're live now, back on the air, "20/20" with live coverage of the attacks in paris, terrorist attacks making it a city under siege.e. six differentnt attacks. we're getting reports at least 153 people reported dead. and all the attackers involved are believed dead. four of them, inside the concert hall. >> and three dying by suicide belt, which was one of the biggest fears. as we know, paris is set to host the climate conference in a couple weeks. and the real fear, t tse soft targets. >> and no hint of any chatter of an attack in paris. tonight, in new york city, the

in blue, white, and red, in hon whohon honor of the french. and joining us now, new york ty mayor bill d dblasio. good evening, mr. mayor. >> good evening. we definitely are on high alert in new york city. and we have our counterterrorism officials out in k locations, making sure there's real presence in key areas tonight to reassure the people of this city. >> and i know one off theeal concerer is the chatter. we rely so much on intelligence. brian ross reporting earlier, in france, there are many isis sympathizers they're tracking, with a large number still in france.

in a city the size of new york city, that we have the intelligence before they can pull off an attack. >> we know it's a real challelee. we're very confident in t intelligence gathering capacity of the nypd. and i can tell you there are many situations where we've been able to get ahead of situations. that capacity has worked to date. and we've had over 1,500 cocoterterrorism officials, and ifif we, god forbid, have one, we can get them in place immediately. bottom line is, in general, we have seen that there's some kind of prior indication. but we're living in an age of lone wolf attacks. with no warning.

key part of our strategy. >> and soft targets were attacked with g gat efficiency tonight. how do you protect all those soft targets, the football games and concerts taking place every place in this country? >> in our case, there will certainly be substantial security at key places in the city. and a lot of preventive things happen all over the city. since 9/11, for 14 years,, we've lived in statef heightened vigilance and continued to build our counterterrorist capacity. and key places will have additional coverage, and the ability to respond quickly, we have officers ready to deploy

that's the modelel we need to depend on. and in a number of cases, we'll catch them and sto them, but if you're going to ben an age where some things aren't seen in time, or when lone wolves are acting, the ability with quick, well-trained response, is important. >> and what do you say to folks watching tonight, that may be feeling uneasy,orrying it's just a matter of time? we know there are lone wolves in the country as well. and does it keep you up at night? >> it's something that worries me every day. but i also know, the track record of the country and the nypd over 14 years has been extraordinary. identifying threats, and stopping them bore they can be achieved.

our capacity. i think there are many reasons to be confident in the security capacity of the city andhe nation. but we have to be vigilant, recognize any suspicious activity. if you see something, say something. that phrase takes on a lot of meaning, and we have a chance to stop attacks if our citizenss are ablele to report to the p pice things they see. tonight, it's a night to think of the people of paris, who have gone through so much. i was there in the aftermath of the january attacks. this whole world's heart is with paris tonight. but we need to support the police and give them information promptly. >> thaha you, mayor de blasio.

and president obama saying we stand with france. and it's nice to see one world trade in the colors of the french people. and here's more of the latest scenes from paris

stay with us. the pictures from paris tonight, in the middle of the night there. as we talk with eyewitnesses, some that escaped the terror, saying they can not slslp. ananthe so-called soft targets, not the battlefield. concerts, restaurants, where they simply drove by and began to attack people.

and a look at the soft targets, here's martha raddatz. >> reporter: this is the nightmare scenario, terrorists going after the soft targets. and tonight, playing into everyone's fears, the sporting evenen theater, or restaurant. tonight, the united states standing in solidarity with its allyies allies. all across the country, cities in high alert. the new york police department working overtime. >> that's what you'll see in new york. deployment of critical response vehicles. to locatatns not only to add security, but to raise the comfort level. >> reporter: it's a show of force at new york's most visible targets.

>> the reality is, there are a lot more sensitive locations than resources to cover them. >> reporter: and that's arguably whwh the terrorists are counting on. and now, in light of the attacks in paris, especially the one near the soccer stadium, sports venues are taking proactive measures this weekend. meanwhile, the nba and nhl, warning all teams and arenas to be extra vigilant. security. securitytyn our games islways atat a heightened state of alert, said a spesperson. pointing out they're already equipped with metal detectors. and metlife stadium is prepared, but all of them might not been.

>> metal detectors are used in some places. i believe there's an efforto have it dodo in all major league venues, but i don't believe yet. >> reporter: but targets like shopping malls are vulnerable. remember this siege in kenya. >> i think they knew they had a soft target, they knew the authorities would n nespond quickly.y. >> reporter: a a quiet night in manhattan. a lone security guard patrolling. people catching a movie or a late dinner. at this subway stop, no sign of increased security. >> it's horrifying. reminds me of, you know, the "charlie hebdo" thing.

over. >> it was an attack on humanity. and that scary. world. them. we can try, but there will be attacks like this. they're random, isolated, 8 million people are in new york. them. >> reportete this w wans a tourist visiting new york from san francisco. >> the parks are so busy during those games. how can iavoid that unless i moved? and if i move, i can't get to work easily. so, that's a catch-22 in my opinion. >> reporter: and jay johnson says tonight, dhs and the fbi are closely monitoring events in paris.

specific or creditable threats on the united states tonight. of course, there were no threats on paris either. these are the kinds of attacks not only hard to detect, but very hard to stop. >> indeed. and you were talking about the reregnation resisiation, people saying we can't proroct ourselves. and 73% of americans saying, it's likely there will be a terrorist attack coming in the future that will cause the loss of lives. when you hear people in new york city talking about this, resigned, how do we stop it? we can't change t t way we live, right? >> you can't change the way we live.

9/11, they're negligible. nothing close to what we saw in paris. >> and we thought there was a big number of attackers, because of the scope of it. it's actually shrunk down. >> you can see the amount of mayhem done by a small amount of ople. and the mumbai attack, just ten attackers attackers, over 400 people killed o wounded. this looks like five or six killing 200 people. so, you get to the final analysis, it's a few people with individuals. >> and you were telling us during the break, it would appear that the french police should be applauded for responding very quickly. but there was almost no chatter,

how can we be sure that we're monitoring them all? >> with great difficulty. you do the best you can. and i think law enforcement in this country has done a very od job. but it's been said so many times, they only have to be right once, we have to be right all the time. >> muchore ahead, but we'll take a break to preview what's coming up. 15 seconds for our local stations. back now or "20/20," our live coverage of paris under attack.

and i want to bring in andy scott. it was stunning to see, france and germany, this giant rivalry. and you see h he, the moment, the bomb explosion outside. people looking at one another, looking at each other in disbelief. andy, where were you? >> i was in the stadium, in the press box of the enormous stadium. a capacity of 80,000, on the other side from where the exexosions couldlde heard about five minutes apart. it was pretty clear very quickly that the exploons were not anything normal. but things carried on until the end of the game. it took a long time for things to be clear, just how serious it was.

moments for the world to see, president hollande with his hand toto his face. how longefore it people had a true grasp of what was unfolding through the city? >> within the stadium, it took long time. when you have so many people in such a small space, sometimes the telephone networks don't work. so, , mmunication can be complicate complicated. so, 20, 30 minutes after the explosions during the game, i was able to make a couple of calls, and it began to emerge. and i'm sure this was the case for many in the stadium, events were occurring across the city as well. and it's important tounderline the fact that the game continued

until the finish. and general atmos\here remained calm, no mass panic. there was some confusion at the end of the match, when they tried to, when people were leaving the stadium, and clearly blocked a number of the exits for obvious reasons, because there had been explosions outside thehe grounds. there was less space for people to leave the stadium, so there were a lot of people on the pitch, and some confusion. so, people were realizing what was going on. but the stadium is about five mis north of the center of the city. despite that, the trains and metro and so on was running normally. things carried on.. but it was confusing and a low realization of what was going

>> and the spectators coming on to the soccer field, was that an effort to get down to safety and security because no one knew what was going on? >> i think it's very easy to look at the images and comom to the cononusion that things were disorganized, but it's more of a realization that so many people trying to leave the stadium, you're going to get a situation where too many people were trying to leave. and they were just waiting for things to calm down. people were standing, being calm on the pitch, just waiting for things to cleararp in terms of the number of people. it wasn't, it would be wrong to describe it as an evacuation panic. just a case of a large number of

people trying to leave via a smaller number of exits. >> all right. andy scott. thank you for joining us tonight for a summary of what happened in thehether attack night. >> the bravery of so many eyewitnesses tonight. >> and one more development, seven of the terrorists killed themselves with suicide vests out of the eight that died. and now, your local news coming up with much m me on this. nightline later, and for elizabeth vargas and all of us here at abc news. i'm david muir. ave a good evening. >> i was enjoying the concert,

of a song, and all of a sudden, we heard shots. >> nobody can justify what they did. >> it feels like a never ending temperatures are in the 30s for most of us, but there are a couple of 40s still around. the planner shows 34 degrees at 2 am, 32 at 6 am, and 46 at 10 am. it's a great looking weekend in a few minutes with timemeor local news that matters!

worst ever in paris" the tagedy in paris. worsn paris" the tagedy in paris. more than 100 hundred dead in 6 separate attacks... and tonight, questions of why. "i will never get those ages out of my mind again." a sioux city neighborhood speaks up about a dangerous stretch of street... dubbed "thrill hill." "they've never seen soybeans and corn come out`like this." farmers celebrate a good harvest... but challenges also come with the high yields. tim: thank you for joining us tonight im tim seaman jenna: and imimenna rehnstrom terror in paris.tonight-- at least restrom terror iparis. tonight-- at least 120 people are dead in a seemingly corrdinated

attack. gunmen opened