Breaking News: Shootings, explosions in Paris, France; at least 45 people reported dead

At least 45 people have reportedly been killed and about 100 are being held hostage in a series of attacks in central Paris on Friday, according to French police.

Reports of explosions rocking a bar near the Stade de France during a soccer match were accompanied by accounts of an unfolding crisis at a concert hall and shootings near restaurants and bars in the city’s 10th and 11th arrondissements the center of the city.

An hour after reports of the first attacks, several French outlets reported another shooting near the Les Halles shopping center and the Louvre museum. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was killed or injured there.

Officers surrounded the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris where French media report that roughly 100 people are being held hostage at the hall.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has arrived to the hall to monitor the hostage situation, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

Al Jazeera was told by an eyewitness that several men entered the concert hall and started firing into the air. An American band, Eagles of Death Metal, was playing to a packed crowd of close to a thousand.

BFM television said several people were dead in the restaurant shootings. A France 24 journalist on the scene said he saw four bodies on the ground outside.

Witnesses described scenes of fear and confusion in the neighborhoods popular with young people and tourists, which were packed on a Friday night.

“I was in the restaurant when the gunshots were heard. We fell to the floor with all the other diners. I didn’t see any gunmen, I was just looking at the floor,” said Charlie Brehaut, who was in one of the restaurants.

“I saw a woman who was lying next to me and I realized she had been fatally wounded in the chest," he said. “And there were a few more casualties.”

Those attackers have not been apprehended.

Madeline Barry, who was at a different restaurant, told Al Jazeera that shortly after the attack patrons filed out of the dining area into a courtyard.

“People are calling their families, trying to understand what is going on,” Barry said. “There is a heavy police presence on the street.”

H

ollande was evacuated from the stadium as a precaution after the explosion outside. Shortly afterward, Hollande declared a state of emergency across France and closed its borders.

“This is a horrible ordeal, that once again, assails us,” Hollande said. “Faced with terror, France needs to be strong.” French media noted that it was unusual for a French president to make such statements while many things are yet unclear.

Nick Holden, dining at a restaurant in central Paris, told Al Jazeera what he saw in the first moments after the shootings.

“A lady came in crying, we assumed some sort of domestic dispute, and someone said she had seen someone shot,” Holden said. “We couldn't believe what was said until we heard the sirens and people started to run, and that’s what we did.”