3 attacks in 3 months: Aussie woman faced terror in London, Paris & Barcelona
Julia Monaco was in London during the deadly London Bridge attack and in Paris when an assailant claiming to be a ‘soldier’ of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) attacked a police officer with a hammer.
READ MORE: First CCTV video emerges showing van attack in Barcelona
Monaco, who only left Australia three months ago, had her narrowest escape Thursday when a van rammed into a crowd on Las Ramblas, killing 14 people and injuring more than 100.
The 26-year-old Melbourne woman hid in a shopping mall in Placa de Catalunya during the attack when a van entered the pedestrianized strip nearby.
Something is happening in #Barcelona. Complete and utter chaos. Currently in lockdown in an Urban Outfitters. People running, crying.
— Julia Monaco (@juliaandmonaco) August 17, 2017
Genuinely terrifying experience. One minute I'm shopping for tshirts, the next I'm running to get away from the windows #barcelona
— Julia Monaco (@juliaandmonaco) August 17, 2017
Speaking to Australian radio station 3AW, she described the panic in the mall but said it had not deterred her from continuing her travels.
“I feel a bit rattled; it’s not how I really expected today to go,” she said.
“But I don't feel like I want to go home. I feel like I want to stay here and not let them, whoever they might be, win.”
In June, Monaco was among those under lockdown in the Tube in London when a van mounted the pavement at London Bridge and struck pedestrians before the attackers ran into a nearby pub, stabbing people.
I am in #London and safe, but sirens are a constant and police everywhere. Surreal.
— Julia Monaco (@juliaandmonaco) June 4, 2017
Eight people were killed and at least 48 were injured in the terrorist attack.
READ MORE: ‘Stabbed 15 times as she begged for help’: How London Bridge attack unfolded
Just days later, the young woman was in Notre Dame in Paris when a police officer was attacked outside the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.
