breaking news. as we come on the air tonight, paris under attack. multiple deadly shootings and explosions. among them, near the country's main sports stadium. the president of france raced to safety. and a siege under way, with many hostages inside. and word the attacks included at least one paris restaurant. dozens believed dead. our entire team is on this, a special edition of "world news tonight" begins now. good evening. we begin tonight with the horror unfolding in paris as we come on the air. that city under attack. dozens believed dead.

and sources telling the associated press these were in fact suicide attacks. and one of them outside the main sports stadium in paris. and you could hear it. the explosion there, leaving the thousands of spectators and the french president stunned. and people hugging in disbelief. meanwhile, several deadly scenes across the city. a concert all under siege. sirens throughout the city. a deadly shooting in a restaurant, and tonight, this image. a member of one of the s.w.a.t. teams helping a woman. the terror on her face. and here's the map at this hour,

first, the stadium, then the concert hall where authorities are preparing to take action imminently. and then, the shootings at that restaura restaurant. french borders have been closed. here's martha raddatz. >> reporter: across paris, scenes of terror. police surrounding this theater in the french capital, reports of at least 100 hostages held inside. and witnesses saying they heard the gunmen screaming, allahu akbar. the siege still unfolding. earlier this evening, huge explosions heard at the giant stad defrance.

and the french president led to safety. massive confusion outside. across town, gunmen reportedly with automatic weapons opening fire inside a restaurant. >> we were sitting an the win w window. and numerous gunshots, we immediately dropped to the floor with all the other diners. i noticed the woman next to me had a fatal injury. i think it was towards her chest. and there was another, a couple other fatal injuries i witnessed. >> reporter: in the aftermath, chaos outside and sheets covering bodies. and at least 50 people dead. police say the attacks appear

coordinated. they come less than a year after two terrorists opened fire inside the office of "charlie hebdo." that also part of a coordinated attack. another attacker mounting a deadly siege inside a jewh supermarket. >> and i want to take you to the images from outside the concert hall and theater. >> there seem to be at least 100 hostag hostages. a couple dozen came out earlier. that's something that police officials would be watching carefully. they want to talk to those people. and we're getting reports there is automatic gunfire outside. the french police may be moving in. they would do that if they thought they had no other

choice, if the hostages were in imminent danger. >> and with the "charlie hebdo" attacks, and the grocery store, whetether or not to go in. >> i'm sure they wish they had more time to ask where the gunmen were, how many weapons there were. but if death is imminent, they will move in. >> and let's bring in louise dewast. and at least 100, perhaps even more hostages. what else are you hearing? >> reporter: i'm about five blocks away from the theater. a few minutes ago, we heard

about a dozen loud bangs, which could be gunshots. police and security forces everywhere, including soldiers, and they could be starting negotiations with the gunmen inside the theater. so, right now, the scene is, lots of security. and an ongoing situation. >> we know the french president, hollande, urging calm, telling the french to stay inside tonight, to stay home. that this was unprecedented, and taking the extreme measure of closing the borders in france tonight? >> unlike during the "charlie hebdo" attack in january, tonight, police were very quick in setting up security borders all around the neighborhoods so people can't actually walk towards the theater. and early on, i was near the restaurant where the other shooting took place.

and the same situation occurred over there. so, france has really, really taken this event tonight very, very seriously, and there's a lot of security forces tonight all over paris. >> louise, thank you. we want to bring in brian ross. we heard louise say, she heard 12 bangs, but as martha reported, they have to be very careful. >> absolutely, they could be stun grenades, to cause the hostage takers to be off-balance. but we don't know. >> what do we know about what the u.s. knows? >> they don't have a very good grasp at all. but this was clearly well-planned, a sophisticated operation, planned weeks or

months in advance, to have so many act in a coordinated way is very troubling. it suggests al qaeda, isis, or a major terror group that can create this. >> and do you remember a number of hostages inside a theater being held, and a concert with an american band? >> they're called the eagles of death metal. in situations like this before, with huge numbers of hostages, it rarely ends very well if it goes a long period of time. >> and we don't know if the band was performing, but they were on the schedule. and you're looking at our broadcast partners overseas. covering the coordinated attacks as they unfold. and right now, the most urgency, at the concert hall, where it's

believed perhaps well more than 100 people are being held. and a series of blasts had been heard outside. and president obama saying we stand with the people of france. here's president obama a short time ago. >> this is an attack not just on paris or the people of france. this is an attack on all of humanity and the values we share. we stand prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance the people of france need to respond. france is our oldest ally. and we want to be very clear, we stand together with them in the

fight against terrorism and extremism. paris itself represents the timeless values of human progress. those who think they can terrorize the people of france their values are wrong. >> president obama at the white house a short time ago. i want to bring in jonathan karl. i was struck by the words, we stand together with paris, with france. we heard those words in january after the "charlie hebdo" attacks. and the president was slated to travel to paris, but this has to rattle leaders both in america and overseas tonight. >> striking how somber the president was. this is a major setback in the fight against terrorism. and comes just as the president was talking about progress in the fight against isis, the drone strike overnight that took

out jihadi john. there has been progress in iraq against isis. but the president was quite clear, he didn't want to speculate who was behind the attacks. but this shows the terror threat is not confined to syria and iraq. look what has happened in the past two weeks. the russian airliner, taken down, the attack in beirut just yesterday. isis claiming responsibility. and now, this in paris. >> and as we watch these pictures and the unfolding situation in the theater itself. word that the associated press has confirmed at least a couple of these attacks were suicide bombers. we heard this was the worst fear for the white house, at least in this country, on the next step of terror. >> it would be exported from

iraq and syria. the fear of homegrown terror in european capitals and in the states. and -- he's scheduled to leave on a nine-day trip tomorrow, the first step is turkey, meeting with the "g"-20, how to contain the threat of isis. >> thank you, jon. and meanwhile, the a.p. reporting police have in fact stormed the concert theater where we believe at least 100 people are being held inside. no word on their condition or what they found after entering. and i want to bring in pierre thomas. i want to go back to the image. the french president, with his hand up to his mouth in

disbelief. security had been tightened already, and you had talked with french authorities about their hope to keep that conference safe. and now they're dealing with this. >> reporter: yes, and i talked to a senior official, and they were looking at dozens upon dozens of radicals in that country. and now, this horrible situation unfolding, exactly what they were concerned about. u.s. homeland security and law enforcement officials looking for any hint of threats directed at t united states. so far, no specific threat has been identified. but police in major cities like new york are likely to step up security. and coming as officials

announced the targeting and killing of jihadi john. while we don't know yet who was behind the attacks in france, what happened there is precisely what u.s. officials have been concerned about. attacks on so-called soft targets, restaurants, malls, and members of the military. >> so, there is a device, almost a devil on their shoulder all day long, saying, kill, kill, kill. >> reporter: and in the last two years, more than 70 americans have been arrested trying to join isis in syria, and planning attacks at home. and just this week, an arrest. u.s. officials tonight are on edge, concerned that what's

happening in france may not be isolated. >> thanks. and i want to bring in richard clark. with brad garrett also there. and richard, when you hear, perhaps authorities have stormed that theater now, what do you make of the situation? >> it's just the largest, most sophisticated terrorist attack in years. one of the largest ever outside of the middle east. it is most like lly part of a pattern of them striking back outside of the middle east that we've been anticipating. strange that it happened first in france, but it probably won't end in france. >> and it's been confirmed by the a.p. that police authorities saying these attacks were in fact suicide attacks. and you have said this is the

fear on the home front. >> because it's very difficult to anybody to defend against these attacks. the only way you can stop these attacks is to get the attackers before they move into action. >> dick clark, former counterterrorism czar. and brad, these have all the telltale signs of a coordinated attack. >> and you're talking about walking into a theater, a restaurant, a bar, and opening fire, maybe have suicide vests. so, granted, somebody had to get together and organize this, but you could do it quickly. but the key, they had all the equipment, and were zoned to go in and do something, and for whatever reason, they launched

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hearing some of the blasts in that area. >> reporter: a few minutes ago, we heard some loud bangs, which could be gunshots. police forces and soldiers and elite forces all over the neighborhood, which is closed down. i'm about five blocks away, and the situation is ongoing. >> you're about five blocks away. so, they've cordoned off the area. we also know, french president hollande telling the french people to stay inside. the borders have been sealed. almost immediately, and as we continue to look at the pictures, brian, you see what's unfolding. >> this is what they'd call a dynamic entry. time is up. they don't believe they have any

more time. and they're going to storm it and try to save anyone they can. >> and who is claiming responsibility, the questions, were these attacks coordinated in the city? >> clearly planned well in advance. but no indations whether it was al qaida, isis or someone else. >> and martha, you said at the top of the broadcast, the decision is excruciating, whether or not to go in. >> i'm sure they wish they had more time, to try to figure out what exactly is going on, put microcameras in there, try to see the hostage takers, where the hostages are located to save some. but the french police are moving in, they clearly think somehow death is imminent and the

hostages are in real trouble. >> a terrifying thought. martha, thanks to you. and to brian, on the set with me. in a moment, we'll have more, with the french president inside the stadium, where explosions could be heard. we'll have much more on the unfolding attacks in paris, in just a moment. did you know that meeting your daily protein needs actually helps to support your muscle health? boost® high protein nutritional drink can help you get the protein you need. each serving has 15 grams of protein to help maintain muscle, plus 26 vitamins and minerals including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones. boost® high protein is the #1 selling high protein complete nutritional drink and it has a great taste-guaranteed! help get the nutrition you need everyday with boost® high protein. available at these fine retailers. plan well and enjoy life...

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them at least a couple of the attacks were in fact suicide attacks. and the initial explosion occurring as france was taking on germany, a huge rivalry. it was packed with fans, but they could still hear the explosion. you can see the horror on president hollande's face. and tweeting to the french people, this nation knows how to defend itself, we will defeat the terrorists. and the pictures of the stunned fans on this field. and pierre, it's been reported that sporting venues in america under heightened security, and also that major climate conference coming to paris in a couple of weeks. >> we're hearing about a soccer match in st. louis where they're stepping up security out of an abundance of caution. and the fbi are offering any

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