Witness To Notre Dame Incident Describes The Scene

TRUCK THAT RAN OVER INNOCENT BYSTANDERS.
CHRIS, WE WANT YOU TO STAY WITH US.
WE ALSO HAVE ABIGAIL MILLER, AN AMERICAN, A TOURIST VISITING
PARIS AND WITNESS LIVE ON THE SCENE.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW? >> I'M SORRY.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? >> TELL US, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
>> SO I WAS ACROSS THE STREET, HAD JUST LEFT NOTRE DAME.
IT SOUNDED LIKE TWO GUNSHOTS WENT OFF AND THEN SAW CROWDS
FLEEING. THE POLICE RESPONDED RIGHT AWAY.
THEY WERE RUNNING INTO THE AREA. THERE HAD BEEN LARGE CROWDS IN
THE AREA. A BIG LINE OUT FRONT.
AS EVERYONE WAS RUNNING OUT, THE POLICE WERE RUNNING IN.
THEY HAD SECTIONED OFF THE STREETS AND HAD MOVED THE --
MOVED THAT QUARANTINE BIT DOWN THE ROAD.
IT SEEMED LIKE THE FIREFIGHTERS SHOWED UP, EMERGENCY SERVICES,
WITHIN A MATTER OF MINUTES. THEY WERE VERY BRAVE.
I THINK THE POLICE DID A FANTASTIC JOB.
THEY GOT EVERYBODY OUT, SECURED THE AREA AND DID SO WITHOUT
YELLING AT ANYBODY OR RAISING ANYONE'S FEAR LEVEL.
>> ARE YOU NEARBY STILL? >> I AM.
I'M STARING AT THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW.
>> CHRIS DICKEY WAS JUST WITH US AND SAID THERE ISN'T A SENSE OF
PANIC AROUND THERE, BUT AROUND YOU, ARE YOU SEEING AN INCREASED
POLICE PRESENCE OR ARE THEY MOSTLY CONCENTRATED AROUND THE
CHURCH? >> YOU KNOW, THEY WERE WITHIN
PROBABLY THE FIRST BLOCK OF THE CHURCH.
I CAN STILL SEE THEM. THEY'RE STILL OUT, AND THEY'RE
NOT LETTING CARS DRIVE IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW, AROUND,
BUT IT'S CALMED DOWN QUITE A BIT NOW.
PEOPLE WEREN'T THAT PANICKED. THE CROWDS, AS THEY RAN OUT,
SEEMED TO BE SCARED, OBVIOUSLY. PEOPLE WERE RUNNING WITH THEIR
HANDS UP. NOT EVERYBODY THOUGH.
MOST OF THEM WERE NOT. FROM THERE, IT WAS THE MILITARY
AND THE POLICE.
>> ANYONE ARRESTED? >> NOT THAT I CAN SEE.
>> DID YOU -- WHAT WAS YOUR THOUGHT WHEN IT HAPPENED?
I MEAN, IT'S EVERYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD, PEOPLE ARE THINKING
ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY, THE LONDON ATTACK AND THE MANCHESTER
ATTACKS. WHAT WAS YOUR INSTINCT WHEN YOU
SAW THIS? DID YOU THINK IT WAS SOMEBODY
GETTING INTO AN ALTERCATION WITH THE POLICE, OR DID YOUR MIND GO
TO TERRORISM? >> I THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS ON
THE ALERT, RIGHT? WE WERE JUST IN THE CHURCH AND
WE HAD JUST LEFT THE AREA, SO IT WAS VERY FRIGHTENING.
YOU KNOW, CLOSE CALL FOR US. I HOPE EVERYBODY ELSE WAS SAFE.
YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, EVERYONE IS A LITTLE ON EDGE SO, YES, THAT
WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I THOUGHT OF.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE POLICE ACTUALLY DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF
NOT RAISING THE ALARM. EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE A LOT OF
POLICE AROUND, IT'S CALMED DOWN QUITE A BIT NOW.
THE SIRENS AREN'T GOING ANY LONGER.
THEY'VE DONE A -- I THINK THEY RESPONDED IN A FANTASTIC MANNER.
>> HOW LONG ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE IN PARIS?
>> I AM -- FOR A WEEK. >> ARE YOU GOING TO GO HOME OR
STAY? >> ABSOLUTELY NOT.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SCARE ME. >> GOOD FOR YOU.
ACTUALLY, THE PICTURES WE'RE SEEING, THEY PULLED OUT THE
PICTURE A BIT, BUT AS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE POLICE OFFICERS,
CERTAINLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE AN ACTIVE SCENE.
DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT SOMETHING.
WE'RE USED TO SEEING PICTURES WHERE IT IS CLEAR THE POLICE
HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN AN ALL CLEAR.
HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE A DIFFERENT SCENE.
>> IT ALMOST LOOKS QUIET. >> WHICH, OF COURSE, WOULD BE
UNUSUAL FOR THIS TIME IN THE AFTERNOON FOR NOTRE DAME.
BUT THEY DON'T LOOK PANICKED OR LOOK TO BE RUNNING AROUND AND
DOING A LOT OF THINGS. HOWEVER, ABIGAIL, IT IS NOT OPEN
TO PASSENGERS, NOT OPEN TO TOURISTS, NOT OPEN TO CARS.
WE SEE NO CARSARS AND NO PEOPLEO ARE NOT IN UNIFORM OR
JOURNALISTS IN THE PICTURES WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT.
>> YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S WHAT I SEE, AS WELL.
THE POLICE ARE GIVING REALLY NICE DIRECTIONS TO PEOPLE,
TELLING THEM TO GO AROUND, YOU KNOW.
OFFERING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FROM
WHAT I CAN TELL. IT'S BEEN RAINING, TOO.
I THINK IT HELPED. PEOPLE TOOK COVER AND THE
BUSINESSES IN THE AREA WERE KIND TO LET EVERYBODY IN AND TAKE
COVER FROM THE POURING RAIN WHILE THE POLICE STOOD OUT
THERE. >> IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU FEEL SAFE.
>> YES. YEAH, I DO.
>> SO LET'S -- >> I MEAN, IT'S TERRIFYING, BUT
THEY'VE HANDLED IT VERY WELL. >> FROM WHERE YOU WERE, I'M
ASSUMING THERE WERE AMBULANCES ON THE SCENE.
DID YOU SEE ANYONE BEING TAKEN OUT?
>> I SAW AN AMBULANCE, BUT I DID NOT SEE ANYONE TAKEN OUT.
>> WE'RE JUST GETTING CONFIRMATION, BY THE WAY, ABOUT
WHAT KELLY COBIELLA TOLD US MOMENTS AGO.
PARI

Witness To Notre Dame Incident Describes The Scene | MSNBC

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