9. Bataclan Concert Hall 2015
The Bataclan Concert Hall on November 13, 2015 was hosting a crowd of 1,500 people who were watching the band Eagles of Death Metal. Then three dark-clad men with assault rifles entered the hall and fired into the crowd. The initial attack lasted 20 minutes as attackers fired at anyone that moved and survivors escaped through emergency exists. Some hid in bathrooms while others pretended to be dead on the floor.
At 10 pm the attackers had numerous hostages trapped within the theater and told police they planned to behead a hostage every five minutes. At 10:15 pm the Brigade of Research and Intervention along with the tactical unit RAID arrived at the theater. They entered the theater and made their way through the halls to rescue victims. Officers made slow progress through the theater as there were wounded hiding everywhere. At 11:15 officers reached a door that was locked. A hostage inside told police that two men with explosive vests were inside. The police were reluctant to enter the room under the fear that the terrorists would detonate their vests and kill everyone inside.
Hostages were shoved in front of the door and used as go-betweens for the police and the attackers. Using a mobile phone negotiators talked to the terrorists several times, finally realizing that the attackers planned to massacre the hostages in front of the media. The police were then ordered to enter the room. Hidden behind a shield that was struck 27 times by bullets, police shot the first terrorist. His vest detonated which prompted the second terrorist in the room to detonate his own vest.
In the end all of the terrorists within the theater died when their vests detonated. 89 people were killed in the attack on the concert hall and hundreds were wounded.