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‘Terrified': Local Woman Says Friends Were Caught in Barcelona Terror Attack

A Pacific Beach resident said she has been glued to her phone, calling loved ones in Spain to make sure they are safe after Thursday's terrorist attack in Barcelona.

Samantha Berns told NBC 7, the attack Thursday hit close to home and it was difficult to process the news.

A van plowed through the crowds on a busy walkway in Barcelona Thursday afternoon, killing 13 people, injuring 100 others.

Berns said her friend explained the chaos during the terror attack through Whatsapp messages.

"He said, 'Right now it’s really hard here, everything is really hard,'" Berns said, reading off her friend's message.

Berns said her friend told her when he was caught in the attack, "he had and his friends they had to run."

"When everybody started stampeding they did too," she added.

One of the most vibrant cities in the world, she explained, has gone silent Thursday night.

"My friends are terrified. They’re scared. They’re angry. They feel very nervous,” she told NBC 7.

She said those feelings won't remain forever.

"You have to acknowledge the terror and you have to move on because they're not winning," said Berns. "Tomorrow in Barcelona, at noon, they want everyone to go to the streets and they want to have a moment of silence and that's good and I want everyone to do that, I want to do that here. They don't win, the terrorists don't win."

Early Friday, authorities in Spain confirmed police officers had shot and killed five suspects in a seaside resort town south of Barcelona in response to a terrorist attack.

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