Everyone has a different opinion about Friday the 13th being a cursed day, but for Paris this day will now forever be marked as a tragedy. On November 13th seven terrorist attacks in Paris, France, killed at least 129 people.

Little did many of us know, St. Francis had its own student there at the time. Freshman Lydia Gonsales was in France visiting her older sister at college. She was there expecting to be on vacation, not almost be a part of a terrorist attack.

The first attacks were launched simultaneously close to the State de France, where there was a large crowd enjoying a soccer game between France and Germany. After, the attacks moved to central Paris. Attackers opened fire at three different restaurants/bars, killing 20 people. Attackers then moved about a mile south-east spraying a popular terrace of a bar with bullets killing 19 people. At least 89 people lost their lives in the next attack at the Bataclan concert venue and began a hostage-like operation that lasted two hours and forty minutes.

“I was in Paris the day before the attacks, and the day after. When it happened we were in Nice, France at my sister’s college.” said Gonsales. “People were running around the city the next day freaking out.”

The day after the attacks, Gonsales’ family tried to get back to the United States.

“Everyone was trying to leave France. It took five hours in the airport just to get to where we had to wait for our plane.”

With her sister still in France, Gonsales said her mom definitely has concerns.

“The college said that she can come home if something else happened,” said Gonsales, “but my mom is trying to get her home now just in case.”