Oregon State student from Seattle close to attack in Barcelona

A few players on Oregon State's basketball team are from Washington state.

The Oregon State basketball team was in Barcelona having a team meal at their hotel when the crash happened just feet away from them.

And three players on that team are from the Seattle area.

Seth Berger was a standout basketball player at Ballard High School. He went to UMASS before transferring to Oregon State University.

On Thursday, he found himself in the middle of the chaos in Barcelona.

“It's not just something that I see on the news. It's something that we – as a family – have to deal with now to help our son walk through what he experienced,” Bill Berger, Seth’s father, said.

Bill Berger's son, Seth, described what he experienced during a pregame meal at the team hotel.

"They heard what they thought might have been gunshots, and when they got out evidently it was people bouncing off the van. It was literally 20 feet in front of their hotel,” said Bill Berger.

"Literally looking out our window - we won't show you pictures – but (there were) some horrific sights,” Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State head men’s basketball coach, said. “(There were) several fatalities within eyesight of our hotel room."

Two of Seth's teammates at Oregon State are from the area. JaQuori McLaughlin attended Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, and Xavier Smith went to O'Dea High School in Seattle.

"I haven't spoken with the parents of those guys (yet), but I'm sure we're all just kind of [thinking], 'wow … this happened to our kids,'" said Bill Berger.

"Everything is good with our guys. Obviously, it's going to be a tough thing to deal with moving forward but thank God that we're all safe,” said Tinkle.

The players might be safe but will never forget about what happened in Barcelona.

"The shock that they're having to deal with … I don't think it's an overnight deal. I think it's probably lifelong," said Bill Berger.

Basketball teams from Clemson, Arizona and Tulane were also in Barcelona. We're told all of those players are safe.

Cox Media Group