City of love becomes city of terror
Revealing the suspects
By Carolyn Cole
One week after the fatal terrorist attack at the Bataclan Theater, Laura Cappia lights candles in remembrance of the 89 people who died on Nov. 20, 2015 in Paris. Laura was at a nearby bar when the shooting occurred. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
November 23, 2015
The Paris attack has many students asking, who’s next? People live in fear because of the many incidents that occurred. Masked gunmen fired into the restaurant, Le Petit Cambodge. Five minutes after the unexpected shooting, a second bomb exploded at the State De France stadium. Simon Couper, a witness of the bombing, said he felt the ground shake and knew something was wrong. Two minutes later, shots were fired outside the bar, Rue De La Fontaine Al Roi.
These are just three of the incidents that prompted worldwide outrage and the ones that were posted instantly on social media. Many other attacks took place in Paris, but they were not publicized to that extent. At least 129 people were dead, according to cnn.com.
“ I feel confused and worried because I don’t know what the reason is for these attacks and what’s going to happen next,” said freshman Suejin YI.
Who lead the masked gunmen? What were their motives? How did the suspects carry out their plans simultaneously?
According to cnn.com, the ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud was very hard to pin down. This man in his twenties had close ties to ISIS leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.
Abaaoud was killed in a police raid and it was confirmed with finger and palm prints. There were impact marks all over his body. French officials did not say whether he got killed by police or committed suicide by blowing himself up.
His father Oman Abaaoud, who lives in Morocco, told CNN he’s not glad, but relieved his son had died. He referred to his son as a psychopath and a devil.
The ISIS online magazine, Dabiq, quoted Abaaoud.
“My name and picture were all over the news, but I was able to stay in their homeland, plan operations against them, and leave safely,” he said.
Police say he faked his death in 2014, so he could travel back and forth without anyone knowing.
People, even students find themselves feeling paranoid because of their fear of being the next victims.
“ I feel scared because what if we’re next on the list to be attacked?,” freshman Adrian Aguinaldo said.
“ I think the ISIS will attack more unexpected places in America, especially on Black Friday. The U.S. is a an easy target,” freshman Amoreena Godoy said.
When and how will these attacks stop?
