LOS ANGELES — A student from a university just south of Los Angeles who was studying design in France has been killed in the Paris attacks, a spokesman for the university said Saturday.
Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, was a junior at California State University, Long Beach, and she was studying for a semester at the Strate College of Design in a suburb of Paris, said CSULB spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp. She was from El Monte in Southern California, he said.
Specific details of her death were not immediately available, but the school will hold a vigil on Sunday to mourn her passing as well as the deaths of everyone in the attacks.
“I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Long Beach State University student Nohemi Gonzalez,” university President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this sad time.”
On Friday, several sites around Paris were targeted in a coordinated assault by gunmen and bombers in what the Paris public prosecutor said killed 129 people and wounded 352, of whom 99 remain in critical condition. Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attacks.
A spokesperson for the State Department would only confirm that one American citizen had been killed, but did not release a name out of respect for privacy of the family. “We continue to reach out to other Americans affected by these attacks, including several Americans who were injured,” the spokesperson said.
Conoley said the school has nearly 80 foreign exchange students from France and is offering counseling support as they cope with the aftermath.
The school said it has 17 students, including Gonzalez, who were participating in international exchange programs in Paris, but no others were hurt. It had originally counted 18 abroad, but an accounting of all the students found one did not go overseas as planned, a spokeswoman said.
One friend of Gonzalez on Facebook posted messages about the loss. “Rest in paradise my lil Mimi,” wrote Miraya Cervantes.
Another friend, Niran Jayasiri, wrote on Facebook: “You were one of the most down to earth, cheerful, bubbly, helpful and honest people I knew. I’m grateful that you were my classmate and a true friend. Rest in peace Nohemi (little one).”
On Oct. 20, in a post on Facebook, Gonzalez talked about studying in French. “Learning a 3D modeling computer program in a language I don’t know is up there in the top 3 hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” she wrote.