That night, Marco hugged his son David (23), who was going to a concert with the Eagles of Death Metal and said:
– David, do not let anyone steal your soul, my son.
Little did he know that the whole family’s life would change in a few hours.
One in seven French people has in recent years been directly or indirectly affected by terrorism, a comprehensive study shows. France has 68 million inhabitants.
Marco and his wife Ximena, both originally from Chile, have experienced the heavy consequences of terrorism. They are the parents of David Fritz Goeppinger, who was taken hostage during the terrorist attack on the Bataclan concert hall in 2015.
– SAVED PREGNANT WOMAN: In this photo, David Fritz Goeppinger hangs out of the wind to save a pregnant woman, who is fleeing the terrorists on Bataclan. Photo: Daniel Psenny / Le Monde
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Eventually, they watched the drama on TV. and then they saw the famous pictures from the back of Bataclan.
– We never knew that what we saw on TV was David hanging out the window, says Marco.
David was captured on video by a neighbor som filmed the drama with his mobile. Together with another, he rescued a pregnant woman, who tried to escape through a window at the back of the concert hall.
Terrorist attacks do not only affect those who are present, when the atrocities take place. Thousands of family members, work colleagues and others may also experience the aftermath of a terrorist attack.
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TERROR: Bataclan 13.november 2015. Foto: Kevin Winter
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TERROR: Bataclan 13.november 2015 Foto: Patrick Kovarik
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TERROR: Bataclan 13.november 2015 Photo: Kamil Zihnioglu
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TERROR; Bataclan 13.november 2015 Foto: Thibault Camus
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TERROR: Batalcan 13.november 2015 Foto: Jacques Brinon
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BATACLAN: November 13, 2015 Photo: Francois Mori
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TERROR: Bataclan Photo: Charles Platiau
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TERROR: Bataclan Photo: BERTRAND GUAY
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TERROR: Bataclan Photo: Kamil Zihnioglu
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TERROR: Bataclan Foto: Philippe Wojazer
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TERROR: Paris 13.november 2015 Photo: Kamil Zihnioglu
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TERROR: Grief Photo: Claude Paris
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TERROR: Paris Foto: Jerome Delay
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TERROR: Paris Foto: Jerome Delay
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TERROR: Paris Foto: Jerome Delay
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TERROR: Grief Photo: Peter Dejong
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PARIS: Grief and love after terror Photo: Peter Dejong
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TERROR: Grief Photo: Charles Platiau
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TERROR: Bataclan Photo: Frank Augstein
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TERROR: Security after the terrorist attacks Photo: Francois Nascimbeni
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TERROR: Grief Photo: BERTRAND GUAY
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TERROR: T-shirt Photo: Jacques Brinon
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Wants justice for the killings
David talks about what happened as we stroll around the Pére Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Several of the 80 killed from Batalan are buried in this cemetery. We meet him for the first time in connection with the five-year anniversary of the Bataclan attack. David has along with a number of others victims used tattoos to remember and to process trauma.
At one point during the terrorist attack, he was taken hostage by two terrorists. The terrorists wore bomb belts and weapons, and threatened to kill him and the other hostages. David was one of the last to be rescued by the police, after sitting in a narrow corridor for several hours.
– I went down the stairs and there were two dead women. The policeman said I should not see that road. I did not understand what he was talking about, but suddenly I saw the pile of corpses in the middle of the concert hall.
David will testify in the terror trial that is ongoing after the attacks on Bataclan and other targets in Paris. Twenty people are charged, the only one who was involved in the attacks, Salah Abdeslam, is the main defendant in the case.
The night of terror kept the thought of his parents alive.
– I thought that if I escape I will do everything I can to be a better son, says David with a smile.
– BETTER SON: During the terrorist attack, David Fritz Goeppinger thought of his parents and it kept him up. He promised himself to be a better son, if he survived. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
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Both he and his parents have struggled with the aftermath of what happened on November 13, 2015.
Terror does not only affect those who are physically present when the atrocities take place. Thousands of family members, work colleagues and others may also experience the aftermath of a terrorist attack.
In France, there have been terrorist attacks in a number of cities in recent years. In addition to Paris, cities such as Nice, Strasbourg, Rouen, Trèbes and Marseille have also been hit by terror.
– I think that everyone who is in contact with a victim a lot, at some point can feel pain and suffering. I think my parents are far from forgetting the night between November 13 and 14.
The parents must always live with the terrible hours where they did not know if the son was alive or not. The time afterwards was also difficult for them.
– We had to be strong, because if David was weak we had to be stronger to protect him, to take care of him.
They are looking forward to the court settlement after the night of terror in Paris in 2015. Judgment in the case is expected towards the summer of 2022.
“I think there must be justice for the killings, and for those for the suffering this resulted in for us,” says Marco.
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