Marseilles-St. Charles Rail Station in France
Four college students who were attacked with acid at a train station in France are reaching out with compassion and forgiveness for their assailant who is said to be suffering from mental illness.
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting on the attack which occurred on at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Marseille-Saint Charles train station in southern France. The four students were approached by a 41 year-old woman, described by authorities be as being mentally disturbed, who sprayed them with what one of the victims described as a “weak solution of hydrochloric acid.”
The victims were all taken to a local hospital. Two of the women had facial injuries, one of whom also suffered an eye injury. All were treated and released.
The students were identified as Boston College (BC) juniors Courtney Siverling, Charlotte Kaufman, Michelle Krug, who are enrolled in Boston College’s Paris program, and junior Kelsey Kosten, who is a student at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.
“We are very proud of our students and the gracious manner in which they have handled themselves throughout this ordeal,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. “The BC community is here to provide whatever support and assistance they need.”
One of the victims, Courtney Siverling, went even further. In a Facebook post, she wrote: “I pray that the attacker would be healed from her mental illness in the name of Jesus and receive the forgiveness and salvation that can only come from Him,” said Siverling, of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
Another victim, Michelle Krug of White Plains, New York, who sustained an eye injury in the incident, has asked friends to “please consider thinking about/praying for our attacker” so that she might receive the help she needs.
“Mental illness is not a choice and should not be villainized,” said Krug.
All of the women are planning to continue their studies in France.
It takes a lot of courage to be a young woman of grace in this day and age, We applaud these women for being such a brilliant example of Christ-like compassion for the beleaguered of this world and will certainly comply with their wishes to keep their assailant in our prayers!
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