Within hours of the shocking terrorist atrocities in Paris on Friday night, many were posting images of their friends and loved ones who were still missing – one of these people was Nick Alexander.
After hearing of the horrific events in Paris, Nick’s girlfriend Polina Buckley was quick to begin posting messages on Twitter in an attempt to find his whereabouts.
There had been rumours circulating throughout the day from several media outlets that Nick Alexander was the first Briton to be killed in the attack, after his American friend at the gig, Helen Wilson, revealed how she desperately tried to save him as he lay dying after he was shot in front of her. By mid-afternoon yesterday, Polina knew Nick was dead. She found out not from the authorities, but from details posted online. This was her heartbroken response.
She later posted a moving tribute to Nick on her Facebook page:
3 years ago on this day I met you on the corner of East 15th and Irving Pl. I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on you. This was the most loving, passionate and eventful relationship I’ve ever experienced. You were my everything. My lover, my best friend, my soulmate. I am completely crushed and heartbroken right now. I will miss you terribly. Sleep tight, my sweet prince. I will always love you, Nick Alexander.
Ms Buckley appealed for any of her Facebook friends in New York to join her at the French consulate in the city to be a “temporary shoulder to cry on” – and was then pictured in tears sitting among the tributes left outside the building.
Nick, from Colchester, Essex, was shot when the Bataclan music venue was stormed by terrorists in a gun and bomb rampage that killed 89 people.
The 36-year-old veteran merchandise manager was working for the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, who were playing at the venue on Friday night.
Tributes have been flooding in from friends, family, colleagues and band members for who he worked with during European tours.
Mr Alexander’s family released a statement, saying:
Nick was not just our brother, son and uncle, he was everyone’s best friend – generous, funny and fiercely loyal. Nick died doing the job he loved and we take great comfort in knowing how much he was cherished by his friends around the world.
Colleague Mick Bowes told Sky News that he was a “hard working, honest guy doing what he loves” and it was “a sad day in the music industry.”
Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney described Nick as a “sweetheart” to Rolling Stone magazine and he was a guy who loved being on tour, saying it’s “what seems to make him the happiest.”
Paris is now in its second day of mourning after a series of terrorist attacks struck across the city, killing 129 people.
