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SALT LAKE CITY — A BYU student interning in Paris was attending a highly anticipated soccer match between France and Germany on Friday when attacks that claimed at least 120 lives began.
The crowd heard an explosion during the game, Dennis Meservy said.
"No one really knew what it was right away," the BYU student said during a Skype interview. "People were confused."
Meservy, an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, said he knew something was wrong when the stadium's atmosphere was subdued despite a victory in the match over soccer superpower Germany.
"It was kind of weird, like everyone was quiet at the end of a major win for France," he said. "You can tell it's a big deal."
The attacks targeted nightspots in the city, including a Paris concert hall where most of the deaths occurred, according to French officials. Attackers, at least eight of whom were later killed by police, reportedly threw explosives at scores of hostages inside the concert hall.
After the match, the crowd was ushered out of only a few exits as a safety measure, Meservy said. Reports of how many people had died varied wildly in Paris as the city tried to grasp the magnitude of the attacks, he said.
"It's a scary thing, and I'm probably not going to go home tonight," Meservy said, noting he would probably sleep at a friend's house.
Contributing: Dave Cawley
