Local woman narrowly misses attack
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 23, 2016 1:46 PM
Michelle Laird Gagliano was scheduled to fly back to the United States with her 93-year-old father, said Christopher Gagliano.
"My mother travels to Belgium two times a year to get my grandfather. He's too old to fly," he said, choking up as he recounted what happened. "They had checked in at the counter 10 minutes before.
"They were supposed to get there at 7:45 before the 9:30 flight. They always get there two hours early. Luckily, they were there two hours and 10 minutes early."
That 10 minutes made all the difference, Gagliano said.
"They were at the terminal on that exact spot (of the explosion) 10 minutes before," he said.
By the time the bomb went off, though, Mrs. Gagliano and her father had arrived at the gate, waiting for their flight to be called. But it was too close for comfort, Chris Gagliano said.
"That was the airplane that they were targeting," he said. "They didn't bomb the plane. They were trying to get the people getting on that airplane."
In the aftermath, the family was unable to find out about the safety of their loved ones, Chris said.
"They wouldn't let them call," he said, resulting in a nine-hour wait with no word. "They shut off the terminal. They wouldn't let anybody leave from there.
"We didn't know what was happening."
Gagliano took to social media, hoping to elicit any information about his relatives.
"I posted on Facebook," he said, praising the community for the support received.
While answers were not immediate, the reactions were, he said.
"A lot of people were saying their prayers," he said. "It's the power of prayer from the Bible Belt."
The relief when he discovered his mother and grandfather were safe was priceless, Gagliano said.
Needless to say, his loved ones did not stick around once officials allowed those in the terminal to leave. They returned to his grandfather's apartment, he said.
A 1990 graduate of Rosewood High School, Gagliano is also the son of recently retired psychiatrist Dr. Louis Gagliano. The patriarch met Michelle Laird while studying abroad in Luxembourg.
"(My mother) was a Belgian citizen. She got her American citizenship," he said.
The plan was to bring his grandfather to the states for Easter.
"We were having our Easter egg hunt at my mother's house this Sunday," Gagliano said.
Instead, those travel plans are up in the air.
"They don't want to go to the airport now," he said. "My suggestion was they should take a cruise back."
Chris, a former military officer who works part time with the Sheriff's Office, splits his time between Goldsboro and Atlantic Beach, operating a roofing business.
Having traveled to Belgium during the summers when he was younger, he was very familiar with the airport that came under attack.
"The whole thing was, that airport, from my travels, is one of the most secure airports I have been in," he said. "Luckily it's a very secure airport and they couldn't get past that point (at the entrance).
"Belgium is where NATO meets and is one of the closest nations to America. It's probably because Belgium is as close to America as any country."
The imminent danger may have passed, but until his family is safely in Wayne County, Gagliano had one request from his hometown.
"Keep us in your prayers," he said.