Terror In Paris

From: Boy Culture

Peace for Paris pic.twitter.com/ryf6XB2d80

— jean jullien (@jean_jullien) November 13, 2015

Mass terror attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis have left over 150 people dead, including about 112 inside a concert hall. Gunmen opened fire or employed bombs in four locations, including a football stadium, restaurants and the Bataclan concert venue (the latter of which apparently holds up to 1,500 people).

At the venue, concertgoers were systematically slaughtered for up to 15 minutes, and the young, unmasked, French-speaking gunmen were heard mentioning Iraq and Syria.

“I found myself inside the concert hall when several armed individuals burst in, in the middle of the concert. Two or three men, without masks, came in with Kalashnikov-type automatic weapons and began shooting blindly at the crowd ... it lasted 10, 15 minutes. It was extremely violent and there was a wave of panic. Everyone was running in all directions towards the stage. It was a stampede and even I was trampled on. I saw a lot of people hit by bullets. The gunmen had loads of time to reload at least three times. They weren't masked; they knew what they were doing; they were very young.”

 — Julien Pearce, The Guardian

President Obama has said of the attacks, in part, “This is an attack not just on Paris, not just on the people on France, but an attack on all humanity and the universal values we share ... [These attacks are an] outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians.”

Horrible as it is to realize, more than one of the gunmen involved in the attacks are still reportedly at large.

Boy Culture is not a destination for hard news—or hard news—of this sort, but I extend my deepest sympathies and support to the French people in this historically devastating time, a time that feels destined to become that country's 9/11 even more so than the Charlie Hebdo slaughter.

Face à l'effroi, il y a une Nation qui sait se défendre, sait mobiliser ses forces et, une fois encore, saura vaincre les terroristes.

— François Hollande (@fhollande) November 13, 2015