Coloradans In Paris Shaken By Terror Attacks
PARIS, France (CBS4)- People in Denver showed their support for those affected by Friday's tragedy in Paris. Flowers were placed outside of the French Consulate on Grant Street and 6th Avenue on Saturday.
Officials described the series of shootings and explosion around the French capital as an unprecedented terrorist attack. More than 125 people were killed, and hundreds more were left wounded in the attacks.
CBS4's Melissa Garcia spoke via Skype and Facetime with people from Colorado who were in Paris when the attacks happened.
"Everyone was having a grand old time, and then [it was] kind of like the world came unglued, just out of nowhere," said Eli Markenson from Arvada, who was visiting Paris on vacation.
Markenson was celebrating his 40th birthday in a Paris restaurant just three blocks away from one of the deadly attacks.
"They immediately locked the doors to the front of the restaurant and you could kind of see people through the glass doors running in different directions," said Markenson.
Saturday, he said the city's streets were nearly empty.
"You don't think Paris, a city of millions that people flock to, would just be… for lack of a better word, dead at this point," said Markenson.
"It's terrifying," said Maddie Hayes, a University of Denver student studying abroad.
Hayes shared images and video of a dark Eiffel Tower.
She described the sheer terror when she and her sorority sisters in Paris heard of the mass shootings and explosions.
"They're targeting highly populated areas and there are a ton of people standing under the Eiffel Tower right now, and so we started to panic," said Hayes.
Edward Goldstein, an American who lives in Paris said of the explosions, "People assumed that they were firecrackers at first. You don't walk around thinking that there's an explosion."
Some visitors are staying in their apartments and hotel rooms in the aftermath of the attacks, and are unsure exactly when they'll be able to head back home.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
