The California student killed in Paris saw herself as a driven, independent Mexican American

*This isn’t to minimize the death toll. There were 129 people killed, more than 350 wounded in Paris. An attack of such brutality should bring us closer to our common humanity, as this attack has. But knowing that among the victims was a young woman who shared our culture, experience and aspirations takes us beyond a shared humanity to a palpable participation in the loss. She was one of us, like so many of our daughters, sisters, friends. Her name among the victims transcends any idea of a separation between us and them. VL

By Thomas Curwen, Soumya Karlamangla and Richard Winton, The Los Angeles Tims

On a warm autumn evening in Paris, Nohemi Gonzalez was spending time with three friends at a local bistro, La Belle Equipe, when gunmen opened fire from a passing black vehicle.

Gonzalez, a 23-year-old design student at Cal State Long Beach, had arrived in the city in September. She had never been out of the country and was looking forward to the semester abroad.

In the sudden chaos, her friends managed to escape, but Gonzalez was fatally wounded, said Jeet Joshee, associate vice president for international education at the university.

“She was seen being carried into an ambulance,” and died of her injuries in a Paris hospital, Joshee said. Gonzalez was one of 19 people killed at the popular bistro. Nine others were critically wounded.

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