Student at Long Beach State Among Those Slain in Paris

LONG BEACH — A California college student killed in the Paris terrorist attacks was at a restaurant with fellow Long Beach students when she was fatally shot, school officials said Saturday.

Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, a senior studying design at California State University, Long Beach, was taking part in an exchange program at the Strate College of Design in France.

One of her Long Beach schoolmates in Paris saw Gonzalez get shot, but she was able to escape from Le Petit Cambodge restaurant. She told school officials she saw Gonzalez carried away on a stretcher.

"I and the entire campus are heartbroken to share this terrible news," said Jane Close Conoley, president of the university.

Design professor Michael LaForte said Gonzalez stood out in the tight-knit department.

"Nohemi was something of a star in our department," LaForte said. "She was a shining star, and she brought joy, happiness, laughter to everybody she worked with and her students, her classmates. She functioned like a bit of a mentor to younger students."

The university was notified of her death by French school officials and confirmed the death with her parents, spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp said.

Politicians and state university officials sent statements expressing their sadness and offering condolences to Gonzalez's family.

"We stand with Nohemi's loved ones and the entire California State University, Long Beach family, as they grieve this loss and seek solace in this tragic hour. We are all Parisians today," Attorney General Kamala Harris said.

Gov. Jerry Brown said flags would be flown at half-staff at the Capitol for victims of the terror attacks that killed at least 129 people.

The university said 17 of its students were studying in France this semester and the other 16 students were safe.

Gonzalez lived in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte.