Paris mourners sang 'Hallelujah' just before the crowd fled the plaza in false alarm
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French law enforcement officials said a false alarm — likely firecrackers — led the crowd at Place de la République to abruptly flee Sunday, The Associated Press reports. The police had reportedly answered someone's call with drawn guns.
The scene, two days after deadly terrorist attacks rocked Paris, was captured on video:
Minutes beforehand, BuzzFeed News reporter Ryan Broderick had captured this decidedly more uplifting moment at the same plaza. Julie Kliegman
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
