Australian shot in Paris recovering from attack

Emma Parkinson, the Tasmanian teenager who was injured in the Paris terror attacks, has undergone surgery in Paris after being shot while attending a rock show at the Bataclan concert hall.

The 19-year old was waiting for a friend at the Bataclan Theatre in central Paris, where gunmen opened fire on Friday night (local time), as part of a series of city-wide attacks which have left 129 people dead and hundreds of others injured.

Ms Parkinson managed to speak briefly with her family in Hobart to let them know she was alive, before undergoing surgery for her injuries to her hip.

Speaking to the media on Sunday morning, Ms Parkinson’s aunt Sam Gunner said details were unclear but it appeared her niece had been shot several times in the hip.

She said the family had spoken to Ms Parkinson and she was in a stable condition.

“We are confident Emma will make a full recovery physically. Obviously there is quite a long road ahead for Emma mentally,” Ms Gunner said.

“Emma is a courageous and brave person at heart anyway,” she said.

“She is somebody who has a lust for life and … she certainly takes the bull by the horns when it comes to living her life.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had spoken to Ms Parkinson over the phone, and said she was in “good spirits”.

“I spoke to her on the phone and did my best to cheer her up. I told her that we were all thinking of her, all of us,” he said.

“Every parent can sympathise with the thought that their child has been injured in an incident like this, and I have to say, she’s a brave girl and in all the circumstances, in good spirits.

– ABC News, SBS

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