On Friday evening, the world was transfixed as accounts of multiple violent attacks committed in Paris began to flood in. As more and more details began to emerge, French president Francois Hollande declared that ISIS, who had already claimed to be the perpetrator, was indeed responsible for the onslaught.
The attacks included suicide bombers at the Stade De France (a French stadium where a soccer match was taking place—The explosion can be heard in this Vine), a mass shooting and hostage situation at the popular Bataclan nightclub where an Eagles of Death Metal concert was taking place (footage of the concert right as the shooting began is available on CNN), and multiple shootings at restaurants around the city. It is the single bloodiest attack to happen on French soil since World War II.
Currently the death toll stands at 129, with 352 more injured (some critically). As more and more of the dead are being identified, new details have risen as to who these victims were. They have been identified as American, Chilean, British, Mexican, Belgian, Romanian, Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Moroccan, Algerian, Senegalese and of course French.
Only one so far has been identified as an American: Nohemi Gonzalez. She was a 23-year-old college design student at California State University Long Beach, studying abroad in Paris at the Strate School of Design, and was at one of the restaurants that was attacked. Gonzalez’s aunt Sandra Felt told NBC News that Gonzalez was known affectionately as Mimi to her family, and was a “go-getter” who dreamed of going to Paris and learning French.
“Why a beautiful young lady, who had so much to offer, and her life was going so well for her? How could this happen to her? She was always cautious about everything,” Felt told NBC News.
A French college student was also killed: 23-year-old Elodie Breuil, who was studying design at the École de Condé. She died in the Bataclan.
Refinery 29 has a full list of victims whose names have been released.