(Nov. 15, 2015) -- A Long Beach resident was at the French National Stadium on Friday night (Nov. 13), one of the sites chosen by terrorists for one of their attacks, and she described on Facebook what she saw and heard.
Rachel Gunther posted the following on her Facebook page at this link.. Her experiences came to light in a story reported first by ABC7 reporter David Ono (aired 11 p.m., Nov. 14), who is in Paris. Ms. Gunther's Facebook words are below: [Scroll down for further.] |
[Ms. Gunther Facebook text] Dearest friends and family. You are all so kind. Thank you for thinking of me. I am safe. What started out as a beautiful evening of dinner with my adopted son in lovely Paris, followed by a soccer match in Stade de France, almost ended as a nightmare.
The Wall Street Journal reports that two terrorists came to the stadium wearing explosive vests; Security discovered one of the vests when they frisked one of the terrorists at an entrance; the bomber stepped away and denotated his vest, killing a person standing nearby, injuring others, and scattering the terrorist's bloodied body parts. Another terrorist was outside the stadium and a few minutes later, detonated his bomb, killing himself. France President Francois Hollande was inside the stadium for the soccer match; security rushed him from the stadium after the blasts. Speculation is that the bombers intended to set off a deadly stampede; the terrorists' explosive belts included nuts and bolts. Long Beach resident Diane McNinch was in Paris and blessedly avoided the carnage. She reported on Facebook (Nov. 14): "I just learned about the terriorist attack last night right here in Paris - I am safe, and my hands shake as I write this - concerned for the families and friends of those attacked. I will always believe that man is kind and there are a very few who are not. Love to each of you my dear friends and family. From the City of Light." Susan Zoske, a former Long Beach area resident now living in Paris, reported she's safe...and put a dispatch on Facebook showing a clip from the film Casablanca in which people in the occupied city sing La Marseillaise in defiance of the Nazis. Ms. Zoske added, "Last night was truly horrible to watch. Today, out shopping for groceries, the streets were in normal bustling mode. People are now thinking about how to defeat ISIS...[T]here hasn't been anything like this in France since WWII. It's a quiet country, with little to no violence, and people look out for one another. The country is the size of Texas, and Paris has a central population of just 2,000,000. So anything that happens here feels personal -- we're all interconnected. But do not worry. Am safe..." Scroll down for further
Ms. Zoske also shared on her Facebook page a dispatch from a third party who was at the Bataclan concert venue, where the majority of the carnage occurred: That person included a photo of a blooded blouse and wrote: You never think it will happen to you. It was just a friday night at a rock show. the atmosphere was so happy and everyone was dancing and smiling. and then when the men came through the front entrance and began the shooting, we naiively believed it was all part of the show. As reported with continuing coverage by LBREPORT.com, CSULB student Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, perished in the Fri. Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. CSULB's administration says 16 other CSULB students are also studying in Paris but weren't injured. CSULB has scheduled a vigil at 4 p.m. today (Sun. Nov. 15) to mourn Ms. Gonzalez's passing and the other victims of the Paris terrorist attacks.
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