John Kerry calls Paris attacks ‘heinous, evil’

Heavily armed New York City police officers stand guard across the street from the French consulate on New York’s Fifth Ave., Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Police in New York say they’ve deployed extra units to crowded areas of the city “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of the attacks in Paris, France. A New York Police Department statement released Friday stressed police have “no indication that the attack has any nexus to New York City.” AP

PARIS — US 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 US embassy in Paris is “making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city.”

READ: At least 120 dead in Paris attacks—investigation source

The State Department says U.S. citizens can contact 1-888-407-4747 (from the US) or 202-501-4444 (from other countries) for assistance.

Kerry says the US 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.”