The first UK citizen dead in yesterday’s Paris attacks has been confirmed as Nick Alexander, 36 from Essex, who was selling merchandise for Eagles Of Death Metal during the siege at the Le Bataclan theatre.
At least 127 people perished in the terror attacks across Paris, with around 80 of them occurring at the Eagles of Death Metal gig where Alexander was shot by the armed assailants.
Talking to UK’s The Telegraph newspaper, Helen Wilson of New Orleans has told of the events leading up to his tragic death, “We heard a couple of noises outside and people started running into the club. We didn’t know what was going on. Then maybe five, six guys came in with machine guns and shotguns and just started shooting people. It was mayhem.”
“Nick was in front of me when we were lying on the ground and somebody moved and they just turned round and started shooting us,” she continued. “His back was to me and I couldn’t see what happened and I tried to keep him talking and then I tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and they [the gunmen] were just sort of in the shadows and they would shoot if anyone said anything… ”
Alexander was a well known figure in the music industry, having been a merch seller for several prominent bands including Fall Out Boy and Sum 41.
The horrible attacks on Paris continue to shock the world at large, with many musicians uniting to show support for the city and its victims.
Alexander’s family has released a statement which you can find below.
Here is Nick Alexander, a British man killed at the Bataclan last night. And a statement from his family. pic.twitter.com/OmzsXk7Eea
— Callum May (@callummay) November 14, 2015
You are and always will be the love of my life, Nick Alexander #fuckterrorism #ParisAttacks #Bataclan pic.twitter.com/C2pxvLwCth
— Polina Buckley (@polinabuckley) November 14, 2015
