Among the 129 casualties stemming from the Paris attacks on Friday, it’s been confirmed that two employees of Universal Music Group, the largest music company in the world, were killed.
The CEO of the label’s French division confirmed the news on Twitter and UMG head honcho, Lucian Grainge, issued a statement to the company mourning the pair.
“This is especially painful and personal for all of us. As many of you know, the band Eagles of Death Metal is part of the UMe and Mercury France family,” Grainge wrote. “The band and its crew as well as our own teams from Mercury and other UMG staffs were present at the Bataclan theater for last night’s show.”
In addition to the UMG employees (whose names were not made public as of press time), an associate of Eagles of Death Metal, Nick Alexander, who sold merchandise for the band, was killed.
A Parisian music critic, Guillaume B. Decherf, was also killed, according to reports. Decherf recently wrote about EoDM for a local magazine.
Plenty of artists have offered their support during this difficult time, including Katy Perry, Ciara and French Montana. The latter expressed his desire for Muslims to not be the target of outrage because the radicalized attackers claimed they were “the true Islam State.” In a video obtained by TMZ the rapper called for peace.
“Hundreds of innocent people from all walks of life and corners of the world, were affected by the horrendous tragedy in Paris,” REVOLT CEO Keith Clinkscales said in a statement. “We support France as purveyors of the arts and music and stands with the country during this difficult time. We will continue to help lift spirits around the globe through music and healing.”