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PARIS—One was a French music writer. A second was a British merchandise seller. A third was an American college student who was on a study-abroad program.

Pictures continued to emerge Sunday of the lives cut short by the terrorist attacks that struck Paris on Friday, even as many victims remained unidentified. The attacks focused on gathering places during the busy evening hours. As a result, many of the dead and more than 300 who were injured were in their 20s, either attending a rock concert, or out having drinks or eating dinner.

Among the 89 killed at the Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan theater was Guillaume Barreau-Decherf, a writer with French culture magazine Les Inrocks, who was in his early 40s. His last article for the magazine was a review of the latest Eagles of Death Metal album, highly approving it with a 4/5 rating.

"He's the only guy I knew who could write elegantly on heavy metal," said Jean-Daniel Beauvallet, 52, music editor at the magazine, of the father of two daughters who wore long hair and earrings. "He loved all music, but he was obsessed with heavy metal."

Mr. Barreau-Decherf, who shortened his last name simply to Decherf for his articles, had written for Les Inrocks since 2008, first pitching a story on covering an annual heavy metal festival in rural France. When the attacks occurred on Friday night, Mr. Beauvallet was at another Paris concert venue, hosting a rock show organized by his magazine.

Mr. Beauvallet was worried about many of his friends at the Bataclan. He frantically called and left messages for those unaccounted for. He never heard back from Mr. Barreau-Decherf. A phone call from a fellow journalist on Saturday afternoon confirmed that Mr. Barreau-Decherf had been killed. "It's so surreal," he said

Also among the victims at the Bataclan was Juan Alberto Gonzá lez, a 29-year-old Spaniard, Spanish officials said. Born in Almeria, southern Spain, Mr. Gonzá lez in 2011 starred in a Spanish TV show about Spaniards living in other countries.

A fluent French-language speaker, he led a Spanish TV crew through the bars and alleyways of Marseille, where he lived at the time, chatting with locals and explaining the idiosyncrasies of a city he loved, as he explained, because of its cosmopolitan spirit, and its fluid culture.

"People here are losing their religion," Mr. Gonzá lez told the camera, while standing inside the old Catholic church of Notre Dame de la Garde.

British national Nick Alexander, who was in his mid-30s, worked as a merchandise manager for the Eagles of Death Metal. "Nick died doing the job he loved and we take great comfort in knowing how much he was cherished by his friends around the world," the family said.

Another victim there was Universal Music executive Thomas Ayad. Universal Music Group Chairman Lucian Grainge called the loss "an unspeakably appalling tragedy" in a note sent to employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

And there was Lola Salines, a young Parisian, who also died in the theater, her father said on French TV. "After hours of waiting for news, three different teams contacted us," her father Georges said.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that diplomatic authorities in Paris identified the body of a Venetian 28-year-old student, Valeria Solesin, who was among the victims at the theater.

Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old design student at California State University, Long Beach, was killed while out with friends at a restaurant, university officials said Saturday. She was participating in a semester abroad program at the Strate School of Design in Paris. Ms. Gonzalez was part of a "very close, tight family" at the design program, said Michael LaForte, a professor at the university's department of design, at a news conference Saturday.

"Nohemi was something of a star in our department, she was a shining star, and she brought joy, happiness, laughter to everybody she worked with," he said. "She functioned like a bit of a mentor to younger students, she was a deep, profound presence in our department, and she will be extraordinarily, profoundly missed."

The grim task of identifying bodies and notifying families continued as the city began to emerge from shock to begin mourning those killed. But the volume of deaths has proved to be an operational challenge, as French officials and foreign embassies continued the work through the day Sunday with many families awaiting news of their loved ones.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with victims' families early in the day at Ecole Militaire, a historic building in Paris 7th arrondissement that has been seconded as a center to host them. "There are families who are destroyed by the pain, the disappearance of a loved one," he said.

Many people remained unaccounted for. Their families and loved ones took to Twitter in an effort to find out their fates, using the hashtag #rechercheparis while appealing to the public for any news.

Those waiting for information were frustrated. Mr. Valls was confronted later in the day at Gare du Nord train station by a distraught father, demanding to know the fate of his daughter. "It's been two days and I've had no news of my daughter. It's inadmissible," said the man, with tears in his eyes. He and government officials present declined to be interviewed.

Hospital crews worked around the clock, tending to the injured. The Paris hospital authority remained on high alert under its "plan blanc," an emergency response that mobilizes all emergency medical workers to be on call and ready for work.

Hô pital Pitié -Salpê triè re was one of the main hospitals that took in many of the victims and was overwhelmed with visitors on Sunday. Many of the recovery rooms were filled with friends and relatives, as the hospital relaxed its usual visiting policy.

"It was particularly difficult seeing families looking for patients," said Melanie Mathy, 30, a nurse at the hospital. "They were saying, 'Is my relative here? What room are they in?' There's a lot more work than usual and that's fine, but psychologically, it's been very difficult,"

Giovanni Legorano and David Roman contributed to this article.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 15, 2015 19:45 ET (00:45 GMT)

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