The Barcelona, Spain, terrorist attack was too close to home for Borough Manager, Joan Heebner.
Her daughter, Laura, was there on vacation and spent some of it hiding on a rooftop.
13 people are confirmed dead and scores more injured in Barcelona. A vehicle was used by terrorists to mow people down as they walked. The coward then began shooting others after leaving the vehicle. The area of the attack is well known as a vacation spot for tourists.
People from at least 34 countries are among the injured in the attacks, Catalan (Barcelona Police) authorities said. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said an American citizen was among the dead. Two Italians were the first victims to be named.
Joan initially thought her daughter was never in danger. A friend asked Joan if her daughter was safe and Joan assumed she was still in Portugal. One of the stops along Laura’s vacation. A check of her daughter’s Facebook page revealed Laura had left Portugal.
Joan recounted her experience.
“My friend called me from home to ask where Laura was. I said, “Portugal.”
She then said, “Are you sure?” and I replied, “Yes, why?”
I checked Laura’s Facebook as we were talking and saw she had put up a picture from Barcelona, as my friend was telling me about what was happening there.
My heart sank. I messaged Laura on Facebook. She had already emailed me to say, “Just in case you saw the news, I am OK.”
We texted back and forth for a bit. Her hotel is right by where that happened. She and her friends were there all morning, then went for a walk. Thankfully, they got lost as they were returning to their hotel.
They heard the commotion, ran into a restaurant/hotel, and went up to the rooftop to hide. Laura saw a lot of helicopters for a long time and was up there about 6 hours, afraid to leave, as they’d heard one terrorist was still on the loose.
So, she had already reached out to me in email before I even knew what was going on.”
Joan told me her daughter and friends will be leaving Barcelona today and the terrorist attack has not deterred them from their original plans. They will be traveling to an island for sightseeing.
Joan, of course, would rather have Laura back home.
UPDATE 8/21: Laura arrived safely back in Philadelphia this evening. The death toll rose to 15 in Barcelona. The terrorist on the loose was located today and killed by police.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
