Tulsa Group With Ties To Paris Finds Comfort In Each Other

A group in Tulsa with close ties to Paris met to comfort each other after Friday’s deadly attacks.

The group is made up of students, former French citizens and Tulsans who have friends and family in France.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has claimed responsibility for the attacks, considered the deadliest on France since World War II. At least 127 people died Friday night in shootings at cafes, suicide bombings near France's stadium and a massacre inside a concert hall.

Members of the French Alliance of Tulsa have had a chaotic 24 hours. They were trying to get in touch with friends and family in Paris, but on Saturday, they found comfort in each other.

"It really felt shocking and I felt sad,” Milad Mohebali said.

Mohebali is a member of the French Alliance of Tulsa and has a close friend currently living and going to school in Paris.

"He immediately contacted me and told me he's fine,” Mohebali said. “He also marked on Facebook that he's fine, too. Facebook had a little app so you could tell friends and family."

And Mohebali isn't the only one with close ties to the city.

"In this group, it's still a very personal thing to each of them,” Judy Glenn said. “They all have a few contacts that they immediately checked with."

The group meets a few times a month to grab an authentic French breakfast and bond over their love of the language, the culture and the country.

Saturday morning’s meeting, however, was a somber one.

“I think most of us just felt comforted knowing that we already had this planned today already to come together and to talk," Glenn said.

The group is breathing a sigh of relief that loved ones have checked in.

They now are keeping family and friends in the loop, which is a comfort to the Tulsa group an ocean away.

The feeling is still uneasy, with the question remaining, "What’s next?”