Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A hug from mum is what Hobart teenager Emma Grace Parkinson is desperate to feel again as she recovers from suffering multiple gunshot wounds in the Paris terror attacks on Saturday.
The 19-year-old’s aunt, Sam Gunner, said Ms Parkinson was ‘‘scared, very overwhelmed, and she was in desperate need of a hug from her mum’’ after the attack.
She said Ms Parkinson’s mother was en route to Paris to be reunited with her daughter, who is in a stable condition.
Ms Parkinson, 19, has been living in Europe for the past year.
She was at the Bataclan theatre where Eagles of Death Metal were performing, before armed assailants stormed in and opened fire.
Ms Parkinson contacted her family via text message after the carnage.
‘‘We were able to speak to Emma on her mobile phone in the hospital,’’ said Ms Gunner.
‘‘We’d had a few messages from her previously to let us know she was alive.’’
Ms Gunner said her niece sustained "a number of gunshot wounds to her hip" before being taken to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery.
The Australian Ambassador to France, Stephen Brady, has been by Ms Parkinson's side.
"I can't thank Stephen Brady enough for being our lifeline on the ground in Paris; for staying by Emma's side; and for staying in constant contact with our family," Ms Gunner said.
"We are eternally grateful to him for going above and beyond in this circumstance."
Ms Gunner also praised the staff at the hospital where Ms Parkinson is receiving treatment, and thanked members of the public who had sent well wishes to the family.
"I know that our healing as a family will start the moment that Emma and her mum are united," she said.
Ms Parkinson has spoken to the premier and the prime minister since being hospitalised.
Ms Gunner was speaking on Sunday in Hobart alongside Premier Will Hodgman and the Commissioner of Tasmania Police.
Mr Hodgman said Tasmanians were "sickened" by the barbaric attacks.
"We are once again grappling with the reality of people who will indiscriminately kill and maim innocent civilians," Mr Hodgman said.
"We are now wondering how it can be that one of our own has been impacted by these appalling crimes."
Mr Hodgman said Ms Parkinson's family are "highly traumatised by these circumstances", and asked the media to respect their request for privacy.
Opposition leader Bryan Green extended his sympathies to Ms Parkinson and her family.
"These crimes are a brutal attack on freedom and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms," Mr Green said.
The government will fly the French flag at half mast at Parliament House in Hobart on Monday, as a sign of solidarity.
The Launceston City Council will fly flags at half mast on Monday, and will likely light the town hall with the French tricolour later in the week.