Dozens of people were mowed down by a cargo truck in Nice as they were celebrating Bastille Day. French President Francois Hollande condemned the attack and extended the state of emergency for three months. USA TODAY NETWORK
A truck plowed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Dayin Nice, France, on Thursday, killing at least 84 people, including two Americans, and injuring dozens of others, French officials said.The driver of the large white commercial truck, identified as Mohamed Bouhlel, killed scores of people as he paved his way into a pedestrian-only area as crowds watched Bastille Day fireworks. The driver was eventually shot dead by police.
The attack marks the third time France has endured gruesome carnage on its own soil in the past year and a half.
Here's what we know:
What took place?
A truck smashed through bystanders near the iconic Promenade des Anglais in Nice. People were observing Bastille Day: the anniversary of a mob storming a looming fortress that held political prisoners two days after the French Revolution in Paris started in 1789.
Who was the truck driver?
Nice's mayor's office confirmed Friday that Mohamed Bouhlel, 31, a resident of the French seaside city, is the main suspect in the attack that killed at least 84 people and wounded dozens there.An identification card located in the truck Bouhlel used to mow down his victims showed that he was a French national of Tunisian descent. Bouhlel does not appear to have been known to intelligence services and was not on a watch-list, according to theNice-Matin newspaper. The outlet also reported that Bouhlel, who was killed by police as he attempted to flee the scene, worked as a delivery driver and was known to them in connection with petty theft.
Is a terror group responsible?
It's unclear whether the driver attacked alone, or if he was part of a larger terror group. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, though France president Francois Hollande said the truck attack was of a "terrorist character."Christian Estrosi, the regional council president of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, called for the investigation to focus on any accomplices, the Associated Press reported. “Attacks aren’t prepared alone. Attacks are prepared with accomplices. There is a chain of complicity. I expect it to be unveiled, discovered and kept up to date,” he said.
Who are the victims?
Estrosi said more than 10 children were among the dead. Fifty people remain in critical condition, many of whom are children, according to Hollande.Two Americans were killed in the attack, according to the U.S. Department of State. A family spokesperson confirmed that Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son Brodiewere killed in the attacks, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Copeland, 52, was from Austin, Texas. The two have not been named by authorities.
Hill Country Baseball club wrote in a Facebook post: "You are in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Rest in peace, Brodie and Sean, you will be remembered by many."
What was it like during the attack?
Video footage showed men and women — one or two pushing strollers — racing to get away from the promenade with broken bodies splayed out on the asphalt, some of them piled near one another, others bleeding out onto the roadway or twisted into unnatural shapes.Witnesses described the horrific scene in gruesome detail."The driver was obviously determined to crash — the truck drove onto the pavement eight feet from where we were standing," a witness told a newspaper in Nice-Matin. "I saw people fall, a small child on the ground.""Thank God we decided not to take the young ones" to see the Bastille Day fireworks, witness Yves Lamorelle told USA TODAY. "I am the only one who went. It was completely crazy, the crowd panicked and everyone was trying to flee."
How far did the truck drive?
The truck driver plowed into the unsuspecting crowd over a distance of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles), a local official said. Estrosi said surveillance footage showed the attacker boarded the truck “in the hills of Nice.”Sylvie Toffin, a press officer with the local prefecture, said the truck ran over people down the sidewalk near Nice’s Palais de la Mediterranee, a building that fronts the famous seaside boulevard.“A person jumped onto the truck to try to stop it,” Eric Ciotti, a local lawmaker, told Europe 1 radio. “It’s at that moment that the police were able to neutralize this terrorist. I won’t forget the look of this policewoman who intercepted the killer.”
How many deaths and injuries?
The death toll increased through the night, totaling 84, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed early Friday, The attack left another 50 people injured in the resort town, French officials said. 18 people remain in critical condition, the Associated Press reported.
What was found inside the truck?
Estrosi said the truck was loaded with arms and grenades. He told BFM-TV that “the driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him.”
What's next?
Hollande summoned a defense council meeting Friday with other key ministers and officials, before heading to Nice. The French leader plans to call up additional reserves to help police, particularly at French borders.Hollande spoke to the nation hours after the attack and extended France's state of emergency by three months. The state of emergency, originally scheduled to end July 26, was in place stemming from the January and November 2015 attacks that, together, left almost 150 people dead.“We have to demonstrate absolute vigilance,” Hollande said in his press conference, adding, “We have to increase ... our level of protection. France as a whole is under threat of Islamic terrorism."French Prime Minister Manuel Valls also announced three days of national morning, starting Saturday.
What's the reaction in the U.S.?
President Obama condemned the terror attack, while presidential hopefuls Donal Trump and Hillary Clinton agreed that the incident was another declaration of war.“This is war,” Trump said after the apparent terrorist attack. Clinton, in rare unanimity, agreed. “We've got to do more to understand that this is a war against these terrorist groups, the radical jihadist groups,” she said on Fox News.Contributing: Associated Press