France Attack: Montclair State Student’s Trip In Nice Goes From ‘Fun To Horrifying’

When Montclair State University’s Amanda Williams set out with seven other college students for a trip to Nice, France, she didn’t know that her journey was destined to go from “fun to horrifying.”

But that’s how Williams described her experience as an American abroad during the Bastille Day attack that killed more than 80 people last week, including 10 children.

• See related article: Latest On Nice, France Bastille Day Attacks: Attacker Identified, More Than 80 Dead, Others 'Between Life and Death'
• See related article: UC Berkeley Student Nick Leslie Confirmed Dead in Nice, France Terror Attack

Williams and her fellow students were on a faculty-led study abroad program at the time, and although the incident was harrowing, none of the college students were injured in the attack, The Montclarion reported.

Williams posted multiple times to Facebook following the attack.

Williams provided updated statements after news of the attacks got out.

“I came to France to study, explore, and have a good time. And that's what my classmates and I were trying to do last night on France's National holiday. I do believe God was watching over us last night because we were going to stay on the Promenade des Anglais for Bastille day events near the beach. We decided to leave and go to a karoke bar. Three minutes after we left, we saw two American students running and one yelled "gunshots!"

She continued:

“I can't explain how it feels to run so fast with fear that your lungs burn and feeling like if a bullet doesn't kill you, suffocation will, or be lost in a crowd of screaming people, or the fear when banging on a stranger's door and begging them to help save your life, or the horror in seeing dead bodies scattered in the street, or the fear hearing the death toll rise every 3 minutes, or the fear of not seeing another day, or when seeing that day, pray that you'll get to see many more.”

Williams wrote:

“Fear...cowards instill fear in innocent people and murder innocent people all for the sake of religious belief... 80 people's lives were senselessly taken away from them. I'm blessed that my friends and I are all okay, but I cry for all these people and their family and friends that have to hear this morning ‘we need you to identify a body’...because one of those bodies could've been mine or any of my friends here in Nice.”

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