At least 120 people were killed in a series of violent explosions, shootings and mass hostage-taking in Paris on Friday night. With the death toll expected to rise, French President Francois Hollande called the incident an "unprecendented terrorist attack" on the country.

As Hollande ordered tighter border controls and mobilised the military in a national emergency, the news unfurled live on social media:

 

The attacks reportedly took place at six different locations in Paris, including the Bataclan concert hall, a Cambodian restaurant and near a soccer stadium where President Hollande was attending a match between France and Germany:

 

Eyewitness accounts described the scene of attack as a "bloodbath":

 

Another eye-witness described the attack as a "war zone at his doorstep":

 

Videos of the carnage also emerged:


All the assailants have now reportedly been killed:

The Bataclan centre, where the most fatal of the serial attacks took place, is a well-known concert hall dating back to the 19th century. It first served as a stage for vaudeville spectacles, was later transformed into a cinema hall and is now a multi-purpose concert hall that can seat more than 1,000 people, according to a report by Washington Post:

American band Eagles of Death Metal was one of the attractions of Friday night's concert, and the Bataclan centre's last tweet reportedly announced that the show was sold-out:

This Instagram image was probably posted just before the attacks took place:



As a mark of respect for those who lost their lives, the Eiffel Tower turned off its lights:

Outside of France, other countries expressed solidarity with France:


A ruthless war

Meanwhile, President Hollande announced that France would lead a "ruthless" war to fight terror:

 

People reacted to his statements with some anxiety:

 

Open doors

As police ordered pedestrians to stay off the streets, Parisian citizens came forward on social media to offer help to stranded citizens through the hashtag #PorteOuverte or "open doors":



Facebook also activated its "Safety Check" feature to help users locate friends in Paris and mark them as safe:

Twitter users also appealed for unity across communities in anticipation of hate messages: