A San Diego native was among those who suffered a scare on Sunday morning in the Place de la Republique in Paris.
Firecrackers that went off scared crowds mourning those killed in the terrorist attacks. The ordeal drew police with drawn guns to disperse crowds. Shortly later it was determined to be a false alarm and mourners returned to the vigil at the plaza.
Raul Ruiz, a San Diegan who recently moved to Paris, was caught in the chaos on Sunday and was forced to hide in a nearby café.
He spoke to NBC 7 via Skype about his ordeal.
“They rushed in. One of them pretty much jumped in,” Ruiz told NBC 7 about seeing panicked people run into the cafe. “Everybody just threw themselves on the ground.”
Ruiz was at Le Votiguer Café where workers were forced to throw down metal curtains and herded customers to the third floor for shelter.
“It felt very scary. I imagine any moment there could be gunshots,” he said.
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Those in Paris have been under extreme caution since Friday’s attacks.
“I go out with a heightened sense of caution, always minding my surroundings (and) waiting to see if people are running,” he said.
Ruiz returned safely to his Parisian home and says the experience won’t keep him in hiding.
“You have to go out now with a bit of courage and as an act of defiance,” he said. “You can’t just stay. You can’t just be defeated by what happened and you have to try to live as normally as you can.”
