Local Woman Heard Norway Blast
Quinnipiac University professor thought explosion was thunder.
AP
Victims receive emergency treatment outside government buildings in the center of Oslo, Norway on Friday, July 22, 2011 after a bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway's government. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)
A Quinnipiac University professor and New Haven resident has been living just ouside Oslo, Norway. She heard the explosion after a terror attack rocked downtown.
"My daughter and I were sitting on the couch...and I heard what I thought was thunder," Pattie Belle Hastings said.
Their home is 20 minutes south of Oslo.
"It was just like one loud boom and I looked at my daughter and said did you hear that, was that thunder? And she just looked at me like I was crazy," she added.
Hastings spends summers in Norway, her husband's home country. She's saddened by the twin terror attacks -- a bombing and mass shooting at a youth camp -- that killed more than ninety people.
"This is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on the planet," Hastings said. "Everyone is in a state of shock. All the flags are at half staff."
She said a lot of their friends have been contacting them on Facebook to see if they're okay. Hastings added that Norwegians know that the country won't be the same.
"It's what everybody is talking about," she said. "No one, no Norweigans want to give up their freedom or have an increased level of security."
So far, no one she knows personally has been affected by the tragedy.
