Update 8/18/2017, 1:50pm PT: We are revealing a few more details, as well as thoughts from parent company Purch CEO Greg Mason, following this tragic event.
We lost a friend and a colleague to terrorism yesterday (Aug. 17).
Bruno Gulotta, 35, an employee of Tom's Hardware Italy, was on holiday in Barcelona, Spain, strolling along Las Ramblas with his partner and two young children, when he was struck and killed by a van that also took the lives of 13 others and injured more than 100.
When he was hit by the van, Bruno was holding his 5-year-old son Alessandro's hand. His son was yanked away to safety by his mother, who had their 7-month-old daughter, Aria, strapped to her chest when the van struck.
The terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and authorities have arrested at least four suspects as the investigation continues, according to the Associated Press.
"It is with great sadness that I must report that one of our team members was killed in the attack in Barcelona yesterday," Purch CEO Greg Mason announced in an email to the company. "While many of our offices are no stranger to the realities of terrorism, it is particularly sobering when tragedy takes one of our own. Please keep Bruno and his family in your thoughts and prayers as well as our EU team members who are dealing with the very real existence of danger and loss in their daily lives," Mason said.
Bruno was mourned and remembered by his friend and colleague Roberto Buonanno, the country manager for Tom's Hardware Italy, in a story we have translated and reposted below. If you would like to donate to Bruno's family, contributions are being collected through a PayPal account Buonanno set up for this purpose: paypal.me/famigliabrunogulotta.
All of us belong to many communities--those built within families, schools, churches, towns and villages, corporations, and entire industries. This is our Tom's Hardware community, and we honor our colleague and his family today.
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From Tom's Hardware Italy, translated:
The news came to us suddenly last night in the carefree climate of August. Colleague and friend Bruno Gulotta was overwhelmed and killed by an infamous terrorist in the heart of Barcelona.
He was away there, along with his companion and his two children. He had posted on Facebook the stages of his journey, and everything seemed to proceed as one would expect from a vacation. A photo from Cannes, one of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. And then what no one expects: The death of a young man, father, and life partner of the mother of his children.
We spent the night trying to keep lucid, to communicate to the close friends and acquaintances about the news; many wondered if it was a macabre joke or if it was reality. And then we started to read online publications, competing to collect as much news, photos, and videos of this young Italian, dead in a terrorist attack in Barcelona.
It is a tragedy that strikes us in so many aspects, one more dramatic than the other. We are thinking of his companion Martina, who, with the strength of a young mom, must now face something nobody should have to. We put ourselves in the shoes of little Alexander, who is preparing to start elementary school with the awareness that his life and family will no longer be the same. And then we think of little Aria, who will not remember the horrible scene, but she will never know her dad.
Bruno was a point of reference, a central figure, for all those who knew him, including us at Tom’s Hardware. Anyone who contacted him, whether it was customers, suppliers, or web stars, was impressed by his kindness and professionalism. He had an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and he was a real enthusiast--one of us--even though he later decided to move full time to marketing and sales. And in that role I have never known a more capable person. He loved to study every aspect of his profession. He was an insatiable reader and a greedy searcher of perfection.
We talked for hours and hours on productivity and personal development systems and exchanged readings. Anyone who had a problem with a computer, or software, or a web platform could ask and find a solution by coming to Bruno, even if they didn't work with him. Bruno was a really generous and heartfelt person. He was able to lead a rich family life and a brilliant professional career with a balance that I will always envy.
Personally, Bruno grounded me. Every time I had a problem or a complex issue that perplexed me, I talked to him. And it was not just business talk. We discussed the education of children, vaccines, alternative medicine, natural nutrition, diet, and physical preparation. I do not know how I will endure the view of his empty workplace in the office and think about how much I will miss this life and career companion.
But now all that matters is giving Bruno's family all of our support.
Rest in peace Bruno. We will remember you forever. You have been a such a life force, and I promise that I will also never forget this last and tragic lesson. And you will always be in my mind whenever I feel the need for a friendly voice, as if you were still alive.
