Belgian victim of Tunisia massacre tells of moment his wife was shot dead in front of him
By Jonathan Wald and Rageh Omaar in Tunisia
Gabriel Verfaillie, a 61 year old tourist from Antwerp, sits in a hospital bed - his legs bandaged and swollen from bullet wounds. He looks forlorn and yet is determined to tell his story.
He has lived to tell a harrowing account of the massacre in Tunisia.
Two days ago, Gabriel and his wife, Hilda, stepped off their cruise ship to visit the Bardo Museum in Tunis. A few hours later his wife was murdered in front of him and he was shot four times.
As we were with him, devastated friends called to pay their respects and try to give him strength.
He described seeing the two Islamic State killers as they stood a few feet from him. "They were young, with no beards, they looked quite normal and wore beige-coloured clothes," he said.
Gabriel and his wife hid in a room with other tourists but the gunfire came ever closer. The terrorists stormed in, firing bullets everywhere. He remembers seeing blood pouring from a woman shot next to him. He was then hit in the legs and he passed out. After an hour the police came.
"That’s when I realised my wife had died", he said. "She’d been shot in the head."
Despite the horrors he has endured, and despite having to endure them alone, Gabriel manages to be heartfelt in his assessment of Tunisians.
Tunisians have been visiting injured tourists in hospital to express how the majority are appalled at what happened. A young woman bringing flowers broke down in tears as she told Gabriel at how heartbroken she was for his loss.
Read: Tunisia survivor: I smeared myself with victims' blood and played dead
"Don't cry," Gabriel implored. "You'll make me cry - I've already had to say goodbye to my wife."
It was a poignant moment of solidarity in the face of hatred.
As we left, his son-in-law was about to arrive to help Gabriel return to Belgium early next week - a frightful trip he must make without his wife and one he could never have imagined when he set sail on his cruise with Hilda.