Argentina, spared terror attacks in recent years, mourns five victims in New York attack

Eight people were killed and 11 injured when a man drove a truck into a bicycle path in New York City yesterday.

Five Argentines were among those who died. They were part of a group of nine friends who were on vacation to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from high school in the city of Rosario.

Flags flew at half-mast in their hometown today, and Rosario has declared three days of mourning to honor the men who President Mauricio Macri praised as “model citizens.”  

The mood in Argentina is somber, says Caroline Stauffer, a Reuters bureau chief based in Buenos Aires.

“Argentina has been spared, in recent years, the kind of violence that we have seen in Europe, and most recently in the US,” says Stauffer, but the deaths of fellow citizens has “hit close to home.”

Argentines will be following the investigation closely in the coming weeks, Stauffer says, “to see what — if any — sort of answers they can get.”