On November 13, 2015, the citizens of Paris were out enjoying their Friday night. Sports fans had come together in the Stade de France to watch the France versus Germany soccer game. Others sat in small restaurants, enjoying small talk and good food. Some were at the bars, grabbing a cold one with their friends in celebration of the weekend. Others filled the seats of the Bataclan concert venue, anticipating the beginning of the Eagles of Death Metal concert.
At approximately 9:20 p.m., their blissful Friday night quickly turned to violence. A bomb detonated outside of the sports stadium. Then, minutes later, masked attackers opened fire on the Le Petit Cambodge restaurant in Paris’ 10th district. At 9:30 p.m., the sports stadium was struck again when a suicide bomber detonated the bomb strapped to his chest. At 9:32 p.m., more citizens were attacked in Paris’ 11th district outside of a bar named Rue de la Fontaine au Roi. At 9:36, the restaurant La Belle Équipe, full of innocent civilians, underwent open fire. At 9:40 p.m., a suicide bomber denoted his body bomb inside of the restaurant Boulevard Voltaire while three of his group members opened fire on the rock concert. At 9:53 p.m., the third and last explosion was detonated at the sports stadium by yet another suicide bomber. By 10:00 p.m., in a span of just forty minutes, six sites had been attacked by eight men, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
At the time of publication, 129 deaths have been confirmed with over 300 injured, 99 of those critically. 129 lives, taken too soon. 129 families, broken. 129 innocents, guilty of nothing but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the United States, citizens were both shocked and disgusted to learn about the attacks. France, being the U.S.’s oldest ally, is held in high esteem here. The French stood with us during 9/11, and U.S. citizens rushed to show their support and solidarity to France and its hurting communities. Loss, as we know, is one of the hardest things to deal with in life, especially when its unexpected, especially when it happens because our loved ones were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is so hard to comprehend that so many lives were lost so quickly.
The U.S. was not the only one to show support; countries around the world colored their landmarks with the blue, white, and red colors of France’s national flag to display their solidarity.
The following morning, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, claiming revenge for French airstrikes in Syria. In response, France declared a state of emergency and called for three days of mourning. Then, France vowed revenge for it's fallen. President Francois Hollande considers the bombings “an act of war.” He made a statement declaring, “We will lead the fight, and we will be ruthless.”
President Obama pledged the U.S.’s assistance to France, calling the attacks “an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share."
Investigations are being made into the identities of the eight attackers. Meanwhile, despite being in mourning, Parisians have made it clear that they are not afraid. Millions of citizens took to the streets, signing and chanting "e are not afraid."
Citizens of Paris, I, along with many others here in the U.S., am praying for you. I take pride in your strength. I cannot comprehend the depth of your loss, and I wish nothing but peace and comfort upon you and yours.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4
*Editor's Note: The information in this article was provided by the following sources: wsj.com, cnn.com, nbcnews.com, and express.co.uk and is up to date as of November 15, 2015.
