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Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says a Swedish citizen was killed in the Paris attacks, and there are unconfirmed reports of a Swede wounded by gunfire.
Lofven said Saturday “We have been in contact with the next of kin. They should of course know that the whole of the Swedish people and my sympathy is with them, our hearts are with you.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Victoria Bell said a Swedish national may have gun wounds. She didn’t give further details about his condition.
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The Muslim Council of Britain has condemned the horrific attacks in Paris and offered thoughts and prayers for the families of those killed.
The council offered its sympathies to the “people of France, our neighbors” in a short statement Saturday.
The council says that while the Islamic State group is claiming responsibility for the attack, “there is nothing Islamic about such people and their actions are evil, and outside the boundaries set by our faith.”
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A member of Bavaria’s regional government has called for better border controls in the wake of the Paris attacks.
Bavaria’s Finance Minister Markus Soeder told weekly Welt am Sonntag that Germany needs to know who is entering the country.
The newspaper quoted Soeder as saying that “the days of unchecked immigration and illegal entry can’t continue. Paris changes everything.”
Bavaria has been the main point of entry for hundreds of thousands of migrants coming to Germany this year.
Soeder was quoted as saying that if Germany’s federal government wasn’t able to secure the border “then Bavaria can take on this task.”
Soeder is a member of the conservative sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.
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Parisians desperate to get in touch with family and friends missing since Friday’s coordinated attacks in Paris are taking to social media under the hashtag #rechercheparis — “Paris Search” in English — posting heartfelt messages and photos.
Scores of people that attended the six sites targeted in the attacks in which at least 127 people died are still unaccounted for.
One post reads: “Waleed is missing. We last contacted him at the match, Please share & contact me if u have any info. #rechercheParis”.
Another: “I’ve been looking for my cousin since last night… He’s 25 and 1m75. He’s called Younes. #rechercheParis ”
The photos and messages are garnering hundreds of retweets — from users eager to help in the search for survivors.
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British police say they’ve arrested a man and called in explosive specialists at Gatwick Airport amid heightened concerns following the terror attacks in Paris.
The North Terminal at Gatwick has been evacuated as police dealt with the incident Saturday.
Police say they were called at around 9.30 a.m. (GMT) after suspicious actions by the man, who had discarded an item.
Detective Superintendent Nick May says the matter is under investigation and it is too early to say what the item may be. But he says that “given the events in Paris on Friday evening, there is heightened awareness around any such incident and it is best that we treat the matter in all seriousness.”
Gatwick is Britain’s second busiest airport.
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France’s interior minister has authorized local authorities to impose curfews if needed after the deadliest attacks in the country since World War II.
Bernard Cazeneuve said in a televised address Saturday that authorities are also banning all public demonstrations until Thursday.
Cazeneuve laid out increased security measures across the country, including thousands more troops and police and special protection for certain public buildings.
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Russia’s civil aviation authority is telling airlines and airports to tighten security in the wake of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris. The national rail network also said it is taking extra security precautions.
There were no immediate details Saturday on what the increased security would entail. Russia’s nerves already were strained about security in the wake of the Oct. 31 fatal crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt, a disaster widely believed to have been a terrorist attack.
In Moscow, mourners were congregating outside the French Embassy to lay flowers and express condolences.
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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says his government is boosting border controls in response to the attacks in Paris.
Rutte told reporters in The Hague on Saturday that his administration will take “visible and invisible” measures to increase security. He declined to elaborate on what form the new tougher security would take.
Rutte says “violence and extremism will never triumph over freedom and humanity.”
He was speaking after meeting with ministers and security agencies to discuss the attacks in Paris.
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Hungary’s prime minister says security measures will be tightened in light of the terror attacks in Paris and has declared Sunday as a national day of mourning.
Viktor Orban also said Saturday that a special congress of his Fidesz party to have been held Sunday to elect new leadership has been postponed.
Though officials say they had no information about Hungary being a target of direct terror threats, controls will be reinforced at border checkpoints, while police patrols will be increased, for example, at airports and the country’s nuclear power plant and officers will be better armed than usual.
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Romania’s foreign ministry says two of its citizens died and a third was injured in the attacks in Paris.
The ministry statement said the Romanian embassy was in contact with the families of the two Romanians. No details were available about where they died or who they were.
The ministry says the injured Romanian was treated at a hospital before being released.
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Prime Minister David Cameron is warning his nation to brace for casualties from the attacks in Paris, but he has left the nation’s terror alert warning unchanged.
The British leader says the country “must be prepared for a number of British casualties” from the Paris atrocity. He condemned the “brutal and callous murderers”.
Cameron said Saturday that the terror threat level in the UK would remain at “severe,” — the second-highest level — but that authorities would review plans amid an “evolving” threat from Islamic state.
In a message of solidarity to the people of France he said: “Your values are our values, your pain is our pain, your fight is our fight.”
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Parisians are lining up for hours to give blood, piling flowers and notes and spilling tears outside a music hall where scores of people were killed by rampaging suicide bombers who shattered the peace of the French capital.
Though deeply shaken, many residents of the hip neighborhood in eastern Paris tried Saturday to find a way to help the some 200 people wounded in a string of attacks Friday night on the concert hall, crowded cafes and a stadium.
Long lines of blood donors snaked out of the St. Louis Hospital near the site of the bloodshed.
Near the Bataclan concert hall, people who lost loved ones and those who didn’t came to pay their respects. The attackers stormed the Bataclan the night of a concert by American band Eagles of Death Metal.
“For the angels of rock ‘n’ roll,” read one note.
“For all the friends that I knew, and those I didn’t know. For life,” read another.
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Italy’s top security official says security has been heightened in the country and along its borders, especially with France, following the attacks in Paris.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters after meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi and other top security and intelligence officials that the country had raised its alert level to the second highest, allowing for rapid deployment of special forces if necessary.
Alfano says no country is free from risk and that “a great democracy like Italy needs to be ready for any event.”
Alfano says 700 soldiers were being deployed immediately to Rome as a deterrent. And he sats additional security measures will be taken into consideration for the upcoming Jubilee year declared by Pope Francis that is expected to bring millions to Rome beginning Dec. 8.
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Two French police officials say a Syrian passport was found on the body of one of the suicide bombers who targeted France’s national soccer stadium.
French President Francois Hollande said the Islamic State group orchestrated the attacks, and IS claimed responsibility.
The identities and nationalities of the attackers have not been released. At least 127 people were killed and about 200 wounded in the attacks.
The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to be publicly named.
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The president of the International Olympic Committee says the terrorist attacks in Paris are “an attack on humanity and all humanitarian and Olympic values.”
Thomas Bach adds in a statement: “Today all people of goodwill will say: We are all French.”
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A community leader from Paris’ working-class suburbs says he fears a “tsunami of hatred” may await Muslims and residents of poor neighborhoods following the deadly terror attacks.
Nadir Kahia of the Banlieue Plus community association says its members are shocked and feel a sense of solidarity “but we know … some Muslims and poor neighborhoods” will be subjected to hate speech.
Kahia also called Saturday for unity of French people and efforts to calm tensions in a text message to The Associated Press.
It came as French President Francois Hollande said at least 127 people died in Friday night’s rampage of shootings at Paris cafes, suicide bombings near France’s national stadium and a slaughter inside a concert hall. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
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British police say the north terminal at Gatwick Airport is being evacuated as a precaution after authorities found a suspicious article.
Police described the evacuation Saturday as a precaution, but the incident comes at a time of heightened concern in Britain in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris. Police have announced additional security at ports and big events in light of the attacks.
Gatwick is Britain’s second busiest airport.
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The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris that killed over 120 people.
The claim was made in a statement in Arabic and French released online Saturday and circulated by supporters of the group. It was not immediately possible to confirm the authenticity of the statement, but it bore the group’s logo and resembled previous statements issued by the group.
French President Francois Hollande had earlier blamed the attacks on the IS group, calling it “an act of war” and vowing to strike back.
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The German government has ordered flags on official buildings lowered to half-mast Saturday as a sign of solidarity and sorrow over the attacks in Paris.
Flowers, candles and messages of condolence have meanwhile been placed outside the French embassy in Berlin. A vigil was planned there early Saturday afternoon.
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Nordic governments have condemned the Paris attacks while ordinary citizens laid flowers and lit outside the French embassies across the region.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom talked about “horrible news” while her Danish counterpart Kristian Jensen said “terrorists must be defeated. They cannot break democracies that stand together.”
Finland’s Prime MinisterJuha Sipila says “we must not give space for fear and intolerance.”
After laying flowers outside the French Embassy Saturday, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said “the perpetrators must be pursued and defeated. We will never give up.”
Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf says “it is important that we stand together against this unimaginable terrorism.”
Denmark’s government ordered flags on official buildings lowered to half-mast Saturday as a sign of solidarity.
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Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called a meeting of Spain’s National Security Council to “analyze the situation in the wake of the Paris attacks.”
Rajoy says: “We aren’t facing a war of religions, but a battle between civilization and barbarism. They may hurt us, but they can’t beat us.”
Speaking Saturday during a special television appearance, Rajoy says Spain was on high alert and its forces had in the past few weeks stopped several terror attacks.
He adds, “We are at France’s side not just in its pain but also in its fight against those who have caused it.”
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German media reported Saturday that a 51-year-old man arrested last week after weapons were discovered in his car has been linked to the Paris attacks.
A spokesman for Bavarian state police confirmed that firearms, explosives and hand grenades had been found when undercover police stopped the suspect near the German-Austrian border on Nov. 5.
“He has refused to say what he planned to do or where the weapons came from,” Ludwig Waldinger told The Associated Press. “We are providing no further information at this point.”
Public broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk reported that German authorities contacted French officials shortly after the arrest. Citing unnamed investigators, the broadcaster reported that documents found during the arrest indicated that the man was traveling to Paris.
Bayrischer Rundfunk reported that the arms, which it said included an automatic rifle and one kilogram of TNT, were professionally hidden inside the body of the car, a VW Golf.
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French President Francois Hollande, speaking to the nation, said attacks Friday that killed 127 people were “an act of war.”
He said the attacks on a stadium, concert hall and Paris cafe diners were “committed by a terrorist army, the Islamic State group, a jihadist army, against France, against the values that we defend everywhere in the world, against what we are: A free country that means something to the whole planet.”
He said France “will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group.” France “will act by all means anywhere, inside or outside the country.”
France is already bombing IS targets in Syria and Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition, and has troops fighting extremists in Africa.
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French President Francois Hollande says that the Islamic State group orchestrated the worst attacks in France since World War II and vowed to strike back.
Hollande said after an emergency security meeting Saturday that the death toll has risen to 127 in a string of near-simultaneous attacks Friday night on a concert hall, stadium and Paris cafes.
He declared three days of national mourning and put the nation’s security at its highest level.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron will be convening his government’s security committee to weigh its response to the terror attacks in France.
Cameron has pledged to do “whatever we can to help” following the attacks.
The prime minister will chair a meeting of the security committee Saturday and consider whether to raise the national threat level from “severe,” the second-highest rung on a five-point scale. The current “severe’ level means intelligence officials believe an attack is highly likely.
Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, the national police lead for counter-terrorism, called for “vigilance” from the general public. He says the police are liaising with their counterparts in France.
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A resident near Paris’ Bataclan concert hall spoke of their shock and disbelief over the gun attack Friday night that left around 80 revelers dead.
Entrepreneur Gabriel Delattre, 31, was arriving home on a bike when he bumped into a nightmarish scene: a man whose shirt was “black with blood” wandering by the side of another man with a large bullet hole in his cheek.
“He was staring at me,” Delattre said. “He was confused and mumbling and didn’t know what he was doing. He just kept saying, ‘We were attacked, we got down on the floor, and we managed to get out. But the others stayed trapped.'”
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Disneyland Paris is closed to the public in a highly unusual move because of a string of attacks targeting a stadium, concert hall and cafes in Paris that killed at least 120.
The theme park east of Paris, one of Europe’s leading tourist attractions, said in a statement that it decided not to open Saturday “in light of the recent tragic events in France and in support of our community and the victims of these horrendous attacks.”
Some 14 million people visited Disneyland Paris last year.
France has deployed 1,500 extra troops around Paris and is tightening its borders because of Friday’
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel the attackers who killed more than 120 people in Paris overnight “hate freedom.”
Speaking to reporters in Berlin early Saturday, Merkel expressed grief for those who died, saying “they wanted to live the life of free people in a city that celebrates life.”
She says the victims encountered “murderers who hate precisely this life of freedom.”
Merkel said her country stands ready to help France in whichever way it can because the attack “was aimed not just at Paris, it targeted and it hits all of us.”
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French President Francois Hollande is meeting top government and security officials after suicide bombers targeted a stadium, concert hall and Friday night cafe crowds in attacks that killed at least 120.
The special meeting in the Elysee Palace on Saturday morning comes as police hunt for potential accomplices to eight attackers who were killed in Friday night’s violence. Hollande declared a state of emergency — the first such move in a decade — and ordered 1,500 additional troops deployed.
The attacks raise concerns about international events that France is hosting, such as a UNESCO forum in Paris on Monday with world leaders, and major climate talks in Paris in two weeks.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and army, gendarme and police chiefs were among those at the meeting.
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Czech authorities have increased security measures all across the country following the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Police say they have deployed forces at all international airports, shopping centers and the French embassy in the Czech capital.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka says he is “horrified by the number of the innocent victims. France deserves all our possible support and solidarity.”
President Milos Zeman has offered condolences to relatives of the victims. “We are all with France and its people,” Zeman said in a statement.
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Germany’s foreign minister says his country stands by France after the attacks in Paris, which he described as an “inferno of terror.”
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was present during the football friendly between France and Germany on Friday night, when three suicide bombs targeted spots around the national stadium.
Steinmeier said Saturday on the sidelines of the Syria talks in Vienna that “the extent of the horror … exceeds everyone’s imagination.”
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Some 1,500 extra soldiers have been mobilized to guard French facilities and schools and universities are closed because of the country’s deadliest attacks in decades.
Many French schools are normally open on Saturdays, but the French government ordered them shuttered as part of emergency security measures.
Soldiers were deployed at key sites around Paris, including Parliament buildings and religious sites.
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11:03 p.m. EST
At least 120 people dead in the deadliest violence to strike France since World War II.
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10:04 p.m. EST
French police say they believe all of the attackers involved shootings and bombings in Paris are dead.
Micheal Cadot, the head of Paris police said Saturday that while all of the attackers are believed to have died, authorities are searching for possible accomplices in the attacks that left over 120 people dead.
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9:35 p.m. EST
The Paris police prefect said the attackers at the Bataclan rock venue blew themselves up with suicide belts as police closed in. He said the gunmen first sprayed cafes outside the venue with machine gunfire, then went inside the concert hall and killed more before the assaullt by security forces.
The prefect, Michel Cadot, said the one set of attackers was at the stadium and at nearly the same time the second group attacked within the city.
Cadot said all the attackers are believed dead, although authorities are hunting for any possible accomplices.
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9:00 p.m. EST
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York is constantly on alert for coordinated terror attacks, especially in the wake of an attack in Paris that has killed dozens.
De Blasio said in an interview with WABC-TV on Friday the attack was not only sobering, but a reminder that police officials need to be prepared and vigilant for a possible follow-up attack.
Police have stressed there is “no indication that the attack has any nexus to New York City.”
Officers have been deployed to various locations in the city, including French government buildings.
French officials say several dozen people have been killed in shootings and explosions at a theater, restaurant and elsewhere in Paris.
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Massachusetts State Police say they’re increasing security around the area of the State House following the deadly attacks in Paris.
In addition, State Police said Friday they are monitoring intelligence at Logan International Airport in Boston.
State Police troop commanders also are directing on-duty troopers to have a heightened awareness of potential suspicious activity within their patrol areas.
State Police acted as attackers killed at least 100 people in a popular Paris concert hall. It was one of at least six terror attacks across the city in the deadliest violence Paris has seen since World War II.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the One World Trade Center spire will be lit blue, white and red in honor of dozens killed in the Paris attacks.
Cuomo says the 408-foot (125-meter)spire will be illuminated Friday night and in the days to come. The governor says the act shows New York will stand with the people of France.
New York City officers have been deployed to various parts of the city, including French government buildings. Heavily-armed officers stood outside of the French Consulate in Manhattan as passers-by brought flowers.
Police have stressed there is “no indication that the attack has any nexus to New York City.”
French officials say several dozen people have been killed in shootings and explosions at a theater, restaurant and elsewhere in Paris.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is describing the attacks in Paris as “heinous, evil” and “vile,” calling them “an assault on our common humanity.”
Kerry says the U.S. embassy in Paris is “making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city.”
The State Department says U.S. citizens can contact 1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S.) or 202-501-4444 (from other countries) for assistance.
Kerry says the U.S. stands ready “to provide whatever support the French government may require.”
Kerry was speaking from Vienna, where he is scheduled to attend talks Saturday on the crisis in Syria.
Vice President Joe Biden calls the attacks “heartbreaking” and “outrageous” and says, “Such savagery can never threaten who we are.”
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Tens of thousands of people join the football players at Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires in offering tribute to the dead and wounded in Paris before the start of a World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Brazil.
With players standing on the field Friday night, the crowd in the stands fell silent for a minute in acknowledging the bloodshed in the French capital. Some applauded as the tribute ended.
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8:30pm EST
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins says the death toll in attacks at six sites around the French capital could exceed 120.
Speaking near a popular music venue where scores of people were taken hostage, Molins said early Saturday that five attackers may have been killed.
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7:53pm EST
Twitter accounts linked to jihadists are celebrating the attacks in Paris.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group tracking militant sites, Twitter posts attributed to jihadist supporters are speculating which group may be responsible. Many users expressed belief that the Islamic Group could be behind the carnage.
They used Arabic-language hashtags that translated to “Paris on fire” and “Caliphate state strikes France.”
SITE says that accounts also circulated pictures of the attacks, and one pro-IS channel accused France of sending warplanes to bomb Syria and says “today it drinks from the same cup.”
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7:49pm EST
A French police official says top government officials including President Francois Hollande were headed to the Bataclan concert hall where hostages were taken.
Another official said at least 100 people died inside the hall. A police assault on the venue finished early Saturday, leaving at least two attackers dead, officials said.
The officials were not authorized to be named because operations were ongoing.
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A French police official says at least 100 people have been killed inside a Paris concert hall where attackers seized hostages. The hostage-taking was one in a series of at least six attacks across the French capital.
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A French government official says the country’s state of emergency has gone into effect and that President Francois Hollande is cancelling his trip to the G-20 meeting in Turkey.
Hollande was due to leave Saturday for the meeting in Turkey, which was to focus in large part on growing fears of terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists.
The official, who was not authorized to be named, said the government will hold a defense council meeting in the morning.
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Two Paris police officials say security forces have ended their assault on a concert hall filled with hostages, killing at least two attackers. Neither official could be named, citing ongoing operations throughout the city.
One official described “carnage” inside the building, saying the attackers had tossed explosives at the hostages. Both officials said they expected the toll of victims to rise.
