Paris attack victims remembrance ceremony held at LA city hall

Source:Xinhua Published: 2015-11-18 14:45:17

Dozens of city officials and residents gathered in front of the Los Angeles City Hall Tuesday evening in memory of the 129 victims who lost their lives in the Paris terrorist attacks, among whom was one girl from Southern California.

Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old exchange student from El Monte to Paris, was the only American killed in the attack. Whittier High School, where she graduated, held similar remembrance ceremony Tuesday night.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and French Consul General Christophe Lemoine attended the ceremony in front of the City Hall, which was awash in blue, white and red -- the colors of the French flag.

"The love and compassion that you show for Paris and one another embodies the humanity -- it embodies the grace that will see us through these difficult days and give us the strength to walk in love even in our time of grief," Garcetti told people gathering at the ceremony.

On Sunday, about 500 people gathered at a remembrance ceremony at the California State University of Long Beach, where Gongzalez was studying before she went to Paris.

A Palm Desert-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal was performing at the Bataclan theater in Paris when terrorists began shooting. The band was seven songs into its sold-out concert when gunshots interrupted the performance. The band members escaped unharmed.

Posted in: Americas

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