A couple in Bellefonte is breathing a sigh of relief Tuesday. Their daughter lives in Brussels with her family.
The Reighard’s daughter and her family are all okay. They live about six miles away from the airport where the attacks happened Tuesday morning. Their two children go to school about three miles away.
“We were sound asleep at four o’clock this morning, our daughter called and said that there had been explosions at the airport and she was going to school to take the kids home,” Susan Reighard said.
It’s not a phone call you want to wake up to. Susan said her daughter, Ashley, couldn’t see or hear the explosion, but she could smell something different in the air.
“Of course, we already worry about them as it is because Brussels is like a hot bed of terrorism,” Reighard said. “We were just scared.”
Ashley’s husband serves in the Army and is stationed in Brussels. Their family has lived there since 2014. The Reighards have been to visit multiple times and each time, they travel through Brussels Airport.
“It is a very soft target,” Reighard said. “You go in and you’re just milling around. You have to go to the check in counter and it’s not until you get well into the airport until you see security.”
Susan and her husband said they plan to visit their family in August.
“It will take more than ISIS to keep us away from our grandchildren,” she said.
Seven Penn Staters are abroad in Brussels. They university said they are all safe and accounted for.