Western Kentucky students share experience of witnessing Louvre heist

PARIS (WFIE) – More than $100 million worth of jewels were stolen from the Louvre in Paris over the weekend in a heist that has made headlines across the globe.

Now, some western Kentucky high school students who witnessed it are sharing their experience.

WFIE reports Trinity High School students and staff were at the Louvre as part of their school trip, enjoying iconic pieces like the “Mona Lisa” and “Winged Victory.”

Next was the Gallery of Apollo.

Emily Hernandez, principal of Trinity High School, said, “We were headed into the Apollo Gallery, we were about, I was probably 20 steps away, several of them were probably five steps from entering the door.”

Mason Greer, a Trinity High School sophomore, said he was about five steps from the door when he heard chainsaws.

Greer said, “I didn’t know at the time that was what that was, I assumed they were renovating.”

That’s when everyone began to run out in fear.

Gracie Mills, a Trinity High School senior, said, “All of a sudden, I see people just flooding out of the room, like pure fear on their face.”

They couldn’t tell what was happening. They just knew they had to run.

Mills said, “Took a deep breath, and I just started running. I honestly didn’t really know what I was running to, but in my head, I was just, ‘I need to get out of here,’ and I was just running.”

Hernandez said they kept instructing students to stay close.

She said, “Students are faster than us at times and I would say, ‘Don’t get so far ahead, we have to stay together. Whatever we do, all of us have to stay together.'”

The museum was put on lockdown, and the group was stuck near an exit for over an hour while the military and police flooded the museum.

They have since learned more about the heist, and they say they’re grateful nobody was hurt.

Hernandez said, “Obviously there was a danger. Anybody that will come in with masks and chainsaws, you don’t know what they’ll do. But at that point we were, they were going for that and not people. So that was good, but we didn’t know that until we were out of the building.”

The students say they will be telling this story for a long time.

And when asked if the heist ruined the trip, the students said, “Absolutely not.”

They called it a trip of a lifetime, and they are grateful for everything they were able to experience.

The Louvre is now back open to the public.