What should’ve been a day of celebration, turned out to be a disaster.

 

The attacks in France on Bastille Day, earlier this month created a global shock and a Pennsylvania native was caught in the middle of it all.

 

Shelley Kobuck is from Tyrone and said she has traveled to France numerous times.

 

This year, she took her son to celebrate his high school graduation but Kobuck said this time, “it easily could’ve been us in a situation like that based on where we were in the event.”

 

She and her son spent their first night on vacation watching fireworks, only to come back to their hotel to watch the aftermath of a man plowing through crowds of people.

 

“I turned on the television and I could see there was breaking news. I think at that point they were projecting 40 dead from the situation and they were reporting it as it was unfolding. So we watched that first several hours, trying to understand what was happening,” Kobuck said. 

 

With more than 80 people killed that night, the city of Nice was in mourning.

 

Kobuck said the next morning she saw flags at half staff and an increased amount of security.

 

Overall Kobuck said it was an unnerving experience but she never planned on cutting her trip short.

 

“I’m not going to stop living my life simply because I’m afraid a terrorist might strike at any time. I just think that if we do that, we’ll be giving into the threats,” Kobuck said.

 

Kobuck and her son returned home safe this week, and urged anyone traveling to stay alert.

 

“Paris is one of my favorite cities and I plan to continue to go there even after this event,” Kobuck said.