PARIS—One was a French music writer. A second was a British
merchandise seller. A third was an American college student who was
on a study-abroad program.
Pictures continued to emerge Sunday of the lives cut short by
the terrorist attacks that struck Paris on Friday, even as many
victims remained unidentified. The attacks focused on gathering
places during the busy evening hours. As a result, many of the dead
and more than 300 who were injured were in their 20s, either
attending a rock concert, or out having drinks or eating
dinner.
Among the 89 killed at the Eagles of Death Metal concert at the
Bataclan theater was Guillaume Barreau-Decherf, a writer with
French culture magazine Les Inrocks, who was in his early 40s. His
last article for the magazine was a review of the latest Eagles of
Death Metal album, highly approving it with a 4/5 rating.
"He's the only guy I knew who could write elegantly on heavy
metal," said Jean-Daniel Beauvallet, 52, music editor at the
magazine, of the father of two daughters who wore long hair and
earrings. "He loved all music, but he was obsessed with heavy
metal."
Mr. Barreau-Decherf, who shortened his last name simply to
Decherf for his articles, had written for Les Inrocks since 2008,
first pitching a story on covering an annual heavy metal festival
in rural France. When the attacks occurred on Friday night, Mr.
Beauvallet was at another Paris concert venue, hosting a rock show
organized by his magazine.
Mr. Beauvallet was worried about many of his friends at the
Bataclan. He frantically called and left messages for those
unaccounted for. He never heard back from Mr. Barreau-Decherf. A
phone call from a fellow journalist on Saturday afternoon confirmed
that Mr. Barreau-Decherf had been killed. "It's so surreal," he
said
Also among the victims at the Bataclan was Juan Alberto Gonzá
lez, a 29-year-old Spaniard, Spanish officials said. Born in
Almeria, southern Spain, Mr. Gonzá lez in 2011 starred in a Spanish
TV show about Spaniards living in other countries.
A fluent French-language speaker, he led a Spanish TV crew
through the bars and alleyways of Marseille, where he lived at the
time, chatting with locals and explaining the idiosyncrasies of a
city he loved, as he explained, because of its cosmopolitan spirit,
and its fluid culture.
"People here are losing their religion," Mr. Gonzá lez told the
camera, while standing inside the old Catholic church of Notre Dame
de la Garde.
British national Nick Alexander, who was in his mid-30s, worked
as a merchandise manager for the Eagles of Death Metal. "Nick died
doing the job he loved and we take great comfort in knowing how
much he was cherished by his friends around the world," the family
said.
Another victim there was Universal Music executive Thomas Ayad.
Universal Music Group Chairman Lucian Grainge called the loss "an
unspeakably appalling tragedy" in a note sent to employees,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
And there was Lola Salines, a young Parisian, who also died in
the theater, her father said on French TV. "After hours of waiting
for news, three different teams contacted us," her father Georges
said.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that diplomatic
authorities in Paris identified the body of a Venetian 28-year-old
student, Valeria Solesin, who was among the victims at the
theater.
Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old design student at California
State University, Long Beach, was killed while out with friends at
a restaurant, university officials said Saturday. She was
participating in a semester abroad program at the Strate School of
Design in Paris. Ms. Gonzalez was part of a "very close, tight
family" at the design program, said Michael LaForte, a professor at
the university's department of design, at a news conference
Saturday.
"Nohemi was something of a star in our department, she was a
shining star, and she brought joy, happiness, laughter to everybody
she worked with," he said. "She functioned like a bit of a mentor
to younger students, she was a deep, profound presence in our
department, and she will be extraordinarily, profoundly
missed."
The grim task of identifying bodies and notifying families
continued as the city began to emerge from shock to begin mourning
those killed. But the volume of deaths has proved to be an
operational challenge, as French officials and foreign embassies
continued the work through the day Sunday with many families
awaiting news of their loved ones.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with victims' families
early in the day at Ecole Militaire, a historic building in Paris
7th arrondissement that has been seconded as a center to host them.
"There are families who are destroyed by the pain, the
disappearance of a loved one," he said.
Many people remained unaccounted for. Their families and loved
ones took to Twitter in an effort to find out their fates, using
the hashtag #rechercheparis while appealing to the public for any
news.
Those waiting for information were frustrated. Mr. Valls was
confronted later in the day at Gare du Nord train station by a
distraught father, demanding to know the fate of his daughter.
"It's been two days and I've had no news of my daughter. It's
inadmissible," said the man, with tears in his eyes. He and
government officials present declined to be interviewed.
Hospital crews worked around the clock, tending to the injured.
The Paris hospital authority remained on high alert under its "plan
blanc," an emergency response that mobilizes all emergency medical
workers to be on call and ready for work.
Hô pital Pitié -Salpê triè re was one of the main hospitals that
took in many of the victims and was overwhelmed with visitors on
Sunday. Many of the recovery rooms were filled with friends and
relatives, as the hospital relaxed its usual visiting policy.
"It was particularly difficult seeing families looking for
patients," said Melanie Mathy, 30, a nurse at the hospital. "They
were saying, 'Is my relative here? What room are they in?' There's
a lot more work than usual and that's fine, but psychologically,
it's been very difficult,"
Giovanni Legorano and David Roman contributed to this
article.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 15, 2015 19:45 ET (00:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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