More than 120 people were killed in Paris, France on Friday during a series of attacks for which the so-called Islamic State has since claimed responsibility.

France remains in a state of emergency after French President Francois Hollande declared the attacks an act of war.

Students at West Texas A&M University said they were shocked when they heard the news, and are somewhat in fear for their safety, especially as the ongoing fight against ISIS becomes more widespread.

“I was devastated for the people and for their country overall, because stuff like that shouldn’t happen anywhere,” Jarrian Rhone, senior International Marketing major, said. “To see people’s lives taken, you never want to see that. It made me aware that a situation like this can happen anywhere at any time, so it made me very cautious.”

For one student, the attacks on Paris were a direct reminder of terror attacks in the U.S. when she was only a child.

“It really freaked me out and made me immediately think of 9/11, and it took me back into that mindset,” Leah Stroud, senior Business Management major, said. “A lot of people are freaking out about Black Friday. They’re saying not to go shopping as they could be targeted then, and I have to work that night, so I’m scared about that. I know we’re in a small area, but it’s still really scary.”

The fear Stroud spoke of can be explained by Kacie Marvin, a freshman Speech Performance major at WT.

“I was genuinely horrified,” Marvin said. “A terrorist attack is used to instill fear, and that’s exactly what they did.”

Even as awareness has spread across the web, with a flood of French flags as Facebook profile photos and a peace sign resembling the Eiffel Tower to honor France and stand in solidarity with Paris, there has been a lack of media attention for acts of terror in other places.

“I wholeheartedly believe the media needs to shed more light on the attacks in Baghdad and Beirut,” Marvin said. “Just because Paris is an iconic city does not mean that it is the only problem at hand.”

Marvin was not the only student concerned with the organized attacks on several different cities.

“The freaky part is that it didn’t only happen in Paris,” Annemarie Rossato, sophomore Theatre Performance major, said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, and when you hear news like this, you don’t feel safe. People get more cautious and vulnerable and become more on-edge. You have to be cautious and keep your guard up, because you never know what people could be planning to do.”

Shock and disbelief seemed to be the emotions most students felt as a result of what happened in Paris.

“I was pretty shocked by the amount of deaths in such a short amount of time,” Maria Fierro, junior Psychology major, said. “As the day went on, it turned out to be a big deal and I got worried. I don’t necessarily see it as a threat to my safety, but I guess something like that could happen here.”

“It was really a shock to me because these things have been happening, but you wouldn’t expect it to happen in Paris,” Rossato said. “It’s weird to think about because I have a friend who was there this past summer, and what if she was still there for study abroad? You think of anyone out there and you just think, “Wow, I hope everyone is okay because that could happen here.'”

One student said she heard the news late Friday night, but was overcome with sadness as she read the reports.

“I was heartbroken when I found out about what happened in Paris,” Hanna Brinson, junior Psychology major, said. “Once I heard about the concert and how there were Americans there, it was even worse because it was our own. I’m grateful that it wasn’t as widespread as it could have been. Unfortunately, innocent people died, but it could have been a lot worse.”

Although there have been no reported attacks on U.S. soil, there is another kind of war unfolding. Kacie Marvin, an openly Muslim student at WT, said she regularly faces backlash as a result of generalizations following acts of terror like those in Paris last week.

“I was actually called a terrorist on Sunday,” Marvin said. “I went to the mall and was explaining to a guy why I needed to know if something was cooked with beef or pork, and the person behind me was very rude. However, I don’t fear for my safety here. It’s just a very normal thing at this point.”