A man plowed a huge truck through a crowd gathered Thursday night in France to celebrate Bastille Day, leaving at least 84 people dead and injuring dozens of others.
The attacker picked up speed and aimed for a crowd along the sea on a street in Nice. Witnesses said he maintained speed as he powered through the crowd for more than a mile, firing shots into the streams of panicked people from a pistol, before police finally peppered the truck with gunfire, killing the driver and bringing the truck to a stop.
“The scene was terrifying,” one witness told The New York Times, saying some people ran and jumped into the sea as a means of escape. He said the truck was finally stopped after someone jumped onto the front of the truck in an effort to stop it, throwing the driver off, and police were able to take down the killer.
The front end of the truck says just about everything about the horrific nature of the violence in Nice.
Police found it loaded with guns and grenades.
Police identified the attacker as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a French Tunisian who was married with three children. Tunisian security sources told Reuters he was not on their radar.
French President Francois Hollande called it an act of terror. It’s unclear whether the Islamic State, al-Qaida or some other terror group is behind the attack.
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