Terror in Paris unfolds, changes lives forever

Dressed and ready to hit the clubs, 20-year-old Charline Dion waited for the subway to arrive, when an announcement came over the speaker. The station was being closed due to terrorist attacks in the city.

CSC international student, Laurie Le Pape, 20, sophomore of Paris, had just ended a facetime session with Dion.

Le Pape received another call from her friend about 20 minutes later, at 1:30  p.m. MST. This is when she first heard about the terror that had struck her hometown.

“I was shocked, as we all are, because they attacked our lifestyle,” Le Pape said.

At 9:20 p.m. local time Friday, the first of six terrorist attacks occurred in Paris, according to CNN. There is thought to be eight attackers, seven of whom either took their own life or were shot down by police. One gunman is still at large. Eight additional men have been linked to the attacks and arrested in Belgium. The most deadly attack was reported at the Bataclan music hall, where a packed house was listening to American band, Eagles of Death Metal.

According to The Telegraph, three shooters fired into the crowd, killing 89 people, and injuring hundreds more. Concert goers fled the Bataclan and took shelter in apartment buildings nearby. Le Pape’s cousin was at a friend’s apartment in that building, and watched the scene unfold.

Le Pape first called her cousin, assuming he was out and about, and received no answer.

Later she got through to him and found out how close he had been to the attack. She next called her sister who was safely out of town.

Her mother was also safe at home, but had been near one of the attack sites, Place de la Republique, shortly before the shooting happened.

The death count is at 129 as of Tuesday night, but hundreds more remain in critical condition, according to CNN.

None of Le Pape’s family or friends were hurt in the attack, but her sister did have friends that were killed and injured. Le Pape used an application within Facebook to check the status of her friends back home. They checked in as “safe” on the app to confirm they were not hurt in the attacks.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has claimed responsibility for the attack. France answered on Sunday by dropping bombs on Raqqa, where ISIS headquarters and training camp is located, according to The New York Times. A second force from France repeated the bombing again Monday.

People gathered in the streets Sunday in a walk of mourning for those that were lost. A service was also held at Notre Dame Cathedral.

“We are grieving, but we are going to show them that they can’t win,” Le Pape said.

She will be returning home Dec. 13, for the duration of CSC’s winter break. Le Pape looks for heightened surveillance throughout the city, but does not expect the people to have changed their daily routines.

She said everyone back home is grateful for all the support from other countries, but while France is mourning their own losses, “we should also remember the other countries that have been attacked by ISIS.” Just the day before the attacks on Paris, a double suicide bombing claimed 43 lives in Beirut, according to The New York Times.

The United States are feeling repercussions from the attacks. A passport found beside the body of one suicide bomber gave French authorities reason to believe that the attacker had entered Europe through a recent wave of Syrian refugees.

According to CNN, the Obama administration has decided to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. next year.

However, after the recent attacks by ISIS, governors of 31 states have announced that their state will not accept Syrian refugees. The federal government has ultimate power in the decision, but the clash from the states may make it difficult.

French President Francois Hollande is traveling to Washington to meet with President Obama next week, according to The New York Times.

They will be discussing strategies to manage the terroristic threat that ISIS has brought upon the world.