The 12th Man will stand for Paris on Monday at a vigil in Academic Plaza.
TAMU Amnesty International, a chapter of the international organization which promotes peace and human rights, will host the vigil.
At least 129 people were killed — with 194 people still in the hospital at time of press — after a terrorist attack in Paris on Friday, according to The New York Times.
The attacks took place at six different locations around Paris and took form in either shootings or bombings. The deadliest attack took place in the Bataclan, a concert venue which was sold out on the night of the attacks.
According to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, the first explosion took place at 9:20 p.m. Paris time at Stade de France, the national stadium of France, during a soccer match between France and Germany. The following attacks happened within the span of 33 minutes, finishing with a final suicide bomber also at Stade de France.
Six attackers died after detonating suicide bombs, and a seventh was killed during a shoot-out with police. One of these suicide bombers was identified as 29-year-old Frenchman Omar Ismaïl Mostefai, who had a criminal record and was under watch for radicalism.
French President Francois Hollande closed the country’s borders on Friday night after declaring a state of emergency. On Saturday morning, the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attacks via social media, calling the attacks “the first of the storm” according to The New York Times. On Sunday, France began airstrikes on an ISIS stronghold in Syria.
The international response to the attacks was immediate, with over 4.5 million tweets about Paris — many using the hashtag #PrayForParis — sent out by Sunday. Major cities in the United States have also tightened security in response to the attacks, and U.S. President Barack Obama called the events “an attack on all of humanity” at a Friday night press conference.
Also on Sunday, a manhunt began for one of three brothers, Salah Abdeslam, who aided in the attacks. One of the brothers died during the attacks and another was detained Saturday in Brussels, Belgium. At time of press, Salah Abdeslam has not been located.
According to a CNN report, at least one American is among the dead and has been identified as 23-year-old college student Nohemi Gonzalez of California State University, Long Beach.
On Monday TAMU Amnesty will host a vigil to honor the victims of Paris. TAMU Amnesty Community Service Chair and women and gender studies and philosophy sophomore Fernanda Benavides said the relationship between France and the United States makes the attacks especially off putting.
“We are standing in solidarity with the people that have been affected by these crimes,” Benavides said. “France is one of our greatest allies so it’s something that is personal and we should respect that.”
The vigil begins at 7 p.m. in Academic Plaza.
The 12th Man to stand with Paris at Monday night vigil
November 16, 2015
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