EDMONTON – Catherine Arnold and her son Marcus Eshleman were in Paris only days before multiple locations in the city were attacked.
More than 120 people have died and 200 were injured in the attacks. One of the locations targeted was a restaurant the Edmonton mother and son frequented – Le Petit Cambodge.
“We were there three times last week. It’s a restaurant we really enjoy … my son Marcus, on our last night there on Tuesday, he ran there on his own to pick up his dinner, his take-out. We know the staff. It’s not an area you would have expected this to happen,” said Arnold.
READ MORE: ‘We are heartbroken’: French locals reflect following Paris attacks
Arnold described the area as trendy, but not a tourist draw like other Parisian landmarks. Her sister lives less than two blocks from the Le Petit Cambodge.
“She just had a new baby and we flew out on November 4 and we got back on Wednesday night,” she told Global News.
Arnold’s 11-year-old son Marcus is still in disbelief over the violence that took place.
“I have two of my aunts who were there and three of my cousins. The first thing my mum said after she said there were multiple shootings in Paris is that everyone was fine. And I was just so happy to hear that because before she said that, my heart just dropped,” he said.
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The City of Lights occupies a special place in Catherine Arnold’s heart for several reasons: She went to high school there and her mother is French.
“You can’t live your life thinking that these things are going to happen at random, but god, they happen at random,” said Arnold.
In the meantime, she has received text messages confirming her sister is okay.
Arnold and her son are not alone in showing support for the victims of Friday’s deadly attacks.
The ATB Building in downtown Edmonton was lit red, white and blue overnight and the City of Edmonton Tweeted: Edmonton supports Paris! We are looking into lighting our city blue, white and red in solidarity with #Paris.
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