They say things happen in threes and that is certainly the case for 26-year-old Julia Monaco of Melbourne, Australia. Monaco claims she has survived three terror attacks in three months. First, it was the terrorist attacks on London Bridge and in Paris and now she has more recently been caught up in the aftermath of the brutal van attack in Barcelona, Spain.

Australian 'seeing the sights' in Europe

Monaco has been traveling through Europe this year and has now experienced her third brush with terror in the streets of Barcelona. According to Monaco, she was shopping with friends in La Rambla when the van, driven by an ISIS-backed terrorist, plowed through pedestrians, killing 13 and injuring more than 100 people.

People crowd into a store to get off the street following the attack

Monaco said it was “absolute pandemonium” when the terror attack happened. She was locked into a store in the Plaza de Catalunya, at the top end of La Rambla, after the van killed and injured pedestrians on Thursday.

She told 3AW, an Australian radio station, that while they didn’t see the van, they could see crowds of panicking people and the police, responding to the situation. Monaco said some of the people had clearly seen something terrible happen.

She said around 200 people had been standing in the square but suddenly they started screaming, as everyone turned around at the same moment. She said everyone was then desperately trying to enter the store to get off the street, which led to them all being terrified.

In the aftermath of the van attack, they were locked into the store and everyone was confused.

However, the next second they were running for their lives to the back of the store, where they were told to get down, stay away from the windows and keep as flat as possible. Monaco said they hid behind a clothing display and there was “considerable panic” in the store, with children screaming before they were eventually evacuated by the police through a side door.

Woman experienced London Bridge and Notre Dame terrorist attacks

As reported by the Independent, when she was previously in London, Monaco had also experienced a lockdown on the Tube (underground rail) after three terrorists with knives attacked people at random on London Bridge. She was also in Notre Dame in Paris when a terrorist stabbed a police officer outside the cathedral.

Monaco went on to say she still feels a little “rattled” by her latest European experience and it wasn’t how she was expecting the day to go. However, she added that she doesn’t feel like going home. Monaco feels she wants to stay in Barcelona and not let them (the terrorists) win.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED