Jesse Hughes, the lead singer of Palm Desert’s Eagles of Death Metal, escaped from a Paris concert hall after gunmen attacked on Friday, a relative told KESQ.
The band was playing a show at the Bataclan theater when gunmen entered and killed over 100 people and took others hostage.
Witness inside #Bataclan tells CNN he saw up to 25 bodies, heard 15 minutes of firing inside #Paris concert hall. Saw shooters with AK's.
— Hala Gorani (@HalaGorani) November 13, 2015
Hughes is now safe at a Paris police station after escaping out of a backstage door, the relative told KESQ.
The band was playing the first stop of its 25-date tour of Europe to support their new release “Zipper Down.”
Josh Homme, the drummer for the Eagles of Death Metal and singer of Queens of the Stone Age, was not on this tour with the Eagles of Death Metal.
UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting Julian Doria, the drummer for the band, is safe along with other band members:
The wife of an American musician playing at a concert hall that came under attack in Paris tells The Washington Post that her husband, drummer Julian Dorio, and other band members of Eagles of Death Metal are safe. An unknown number of hostages continue to be held.
“We are just holding our breath and saying prayers for everyone,” said Dorio’s wife, Emily. The pair only spoke briefly. “He called to say that he loved me and he was safe. Everyone on stage was able to get off.”
We are still currently trying to determine the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew. Our thoughts are with all of the people involved in this tragic situation.
Posted by Eagles Of Death Metal on Friday, November 13, 2015
UPDATE: The brother of Juilan Dorio spoke with WSB-TV in Atlanta.
“He said they were playing, about six songs into the show, and they heard, before they saw anything, they heard automatic machine gunfire. And it was so loud, it was louder than the band, and they all hit the stage floor. And as they got up to try to evacuate they saw men with machine guns just shooting anything and everything in the venue,” Michael Dorio, Juilan Dorio’s brother told WSB.
“Fifteen hundred people, Julian said, was about the capacity of the venue. I don’t know if it was seated or standing but Julian, the lead singer and some of the crew, there was a door back of the stage that led to a street and they flew out the back door,” he said.
