Page 58 - JSOM Spring 2025

FIGURE 1 Attack timeline.

coordinated terrorist attacks across Paris that night. The total • 22:58hrs RAID Team 1 and 2 tactical doctors arrived.
attack resulted in 130 civilians and 10 terrorists deceased. • 00:18hrs BRI and RAID entered the hall. When the police
Among the victims, 129 civilians died of gunshot wounds and action commenced, 1 attacker detonated their suicide vest,
1 from blast injuries, with 413 injured. The causes of death and police shot another.
included craniocerebral injuries, massive hemorrhage, and • 01:00hrs evacuation of casualties was complete.
extensive organ lacerations. Of the 9 terrorists, 7 died from • 01:20hrs end of RAID doctors’ interventions.
suicide vest explosions, 1 had combined fatal injuries from an
explosion and shooting, and police shot 1 during the RAID re- See Box 1 for a detailed timeline of the Bataclan attack.
sponse. Additionally, 1 female relative of a terrorist died from
crush injuries sustained during the post-incident operations. 5
Discussion
• 21:40hrs Friday to 00:20hrs Saturday, approximately 3 Methods
hours duration. A thematic document search was undertaken using online da-
• 21:47hrs 13 November, 3 armed men entered the Bata- tabases to locate after-action reports, inquiry documents, orga-
clan attended by 1,500 patrons. Assailants had strapped nizational reports, journal articles, and media releases relating
explosives to their person and were armed with AK-47 or to the Bataclan Hall attack. The case report started from the
Zastava assault rifles using 7.62 × 39mm cartridges. On point of PTG entry and the actions of RAID physicians once
5
entering, they opened fire and started hostage-taking. Pa- inside. Information was gathered from firsthand experiences
trons managed to hide or take cover under the bodies of of RAID physician Dr. Matthieu Langlois, reports, articles,
others. People escaped through an emergency exit left of and the Manchester Arena Inquiry (MAI). Clinical treatments
the stage, while others moved toward the roof. undertaken were readily available. A comparison was made
• 21:47hrs 2 police officers responded and shot 1 attacker, between the interventions of the physicians and what could
resulting in the detonation of the suicide vest. Two others be delivered by Australian ACPs. No judgment was made on
held hostages on the upper floor and were shooting into the quality or requirement of each treatment performed. No
the hall and the alley outside, where patrons were escap- comment is made on the tactics used on the day.
ing. Following the death of the first attacker, the shooting
stopped. Analysis
• 22:32hrs Parisian Police Tactical Groups (PTGs), BRI (Bri- Maintaining conventional teams out of danger was consistent
gade de recherche et d’intervention – Research and Inter- with jurisdictional plans. RAID’s aim was “. . . to organize
vention Brigade) arrived. and ensure medical care “under fire” of possible victims (se-
• 22:34hrs Rapid Response Team (police) arrived. curity forces, hostages, terrorists, third parties) as long as the
• 22:34hrs RAID Team 2 arrived. circumstances compromised the intervention of conventional

56 | JSOM Volume 25, Edition 1 / Spring 2025