By Emma Cummins

Editorial Page Editor

After the tragedy in Paris last week, much has been done and said about the attacks by politicians, world figures and organizations. Yesterday, a police raid took place and killed the number one suspect behind the Paris attacks.

Twenty-seven-year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who has been connected to several terrorist threats in the last four months, was the suspected mastermind behind the terrorist attacks in Paris.

After several unsuccessful attempts at capturing Abaaoud in previous months, the raid was a violent attempt to finally apprehend the suspect.

The raid collapsed an entire floor of an apartment building and Abaaoud’s body was found in the damage, as well as Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Abaaoud’s cousin, who committed suicide during the raid. The raid took place in Saint-Denis, a northern Parisian suburb.

Eight other co-conspirators were taken into custody, but as of now, Abaaoud’s partners and other ISIS operatives have not yet been apprehended, and may be at large.

France has taken other steps to retaliate against ISIS, including a series of bombings in Syria, a decision that has been hotly discussed.

This and other incidents have shaken the entire globe. The environment is now changing, as citizens are under fear of the next terrorist attacks, given recent threats by ISIS to attack major cities, including New York. ISIS has also begun to develop the building of chemical weapons, installing a branch within their group to deal exclusively with chemical weapons.

It is times like these when countries must remain strong, and citizens not give into fear. ISIS wishes to instill fear in Western countries, and it is a defining moment and step our country must take in response to an issue that will soon reach a crescendo.