PARIS — Hundreds of concertgoers were crowded into one of the most popular music venues in Paris, The Bataclan, for a show by a U.S. group, Eagles of Death Metal.
The band had been playing to the sold-out crowd for about an hour when, suddenly, terror struck. Witnesses said three men shouting "Allahu akbar" burst into the hall.
Instantly there was bloodshed, with witnesses saying they heard sustained gunfire. Others said grenades had been thrown into the crowd.
"When they started shooting, we just saw flashes," a witness named Gwen told French BFM-TV. "People got down on the ground right away. It was all dark."
In the scramble to survive, people climbed into the upper boxes in the 150-year-old music hall or cowered under the seats. The musicians quickly fled the stage.
"It was a scene of carnage," a witness named Julien told the radio network Europe 1. "The men shot at the audience, which lasted for about 10 minutes, with one shot lasting three or four seconds.
"They shot, recharged their guns, and shot again, even aiming at those already lying on the ground," he continued. "I saw about 10 bodies lying on the ground but couldn't tell whether they were injured or dead."
The hall can seat as many as 1,500 people, but it was unclear how many were inside when the shooting began. Some of the spectators managed to escape out back exits, but the gunmen were able to fire on the crowd unimpeded.
Julien told Europe 1 that he had seen two men enter with guns blazing. Benjamin Cazenoves posted an update from inside the theater on Facebook: "Alive. Just some cuts. Carnage. Bodies everywhere."
Around 10 p.m., the gunmen began rounding up survivors as hostages as dozens of police officers massed outside. For more than two hours a tense standoff prevailed, with more and more police arriving, enlarging the tense perimeter around the music hall in the city's 11th Arrondissement.
With dozens still trapped inside, and the police massing for an assault, President François Hollande went on television to declare a state of emergency, his voice trembling slightly.
All throughout central Paris, sirens blared. About 12:15 a.m., the police began their assault on The Bataclan. There were a few quick rounds of gunfire, and then it was over.
Two, perhaps three, terrorists were killed in the final assault.
"The police are uncovering a scene of horror and apocalypse inside this music hall," a journalist said on French television.
The authorities said more than 100 were dead.