'ABSOLUTE HORROR': Dozens killed after truck plows into crowd in Nice, France
Bodies seen Friday after at least 80 people were killed in Nice, France, on Thursday night when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday. Reuters
- At least 84 dead after driver plows truck through Bastille Day revelers in southern French city of Nice.
- More than 100 injured.
- Truck driver was shot dead by the police.
- French President François Hollande called the attack "an absolute horror."
- State of emergency in France to be extended for another three months.
At least 84 people, including at least 10 children, were killed in the southern French city of Nice when a man drove a truck into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on Thursday night, according to the French interior ministry.
A least 50 people are still in extremely serious condition, and 54 children have been admitted to the children's hospital Lenval since Thursday night, according to the French newspaper Nice-Matin.
The truck's driver opened fire on the crowd with a 7.65 mm pistol before accelerating and ramming the explosives-loaded truck into nearby pedestrians, officials said.
The driver was shot and killed by the French police. Authorities identified him as a 31-year-old Franco-Tunisian resident of Nice named Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Bouhlel's identification papers along with another ID card were found in the truck.
Bouhlel, a father of three, was known to the police for non-terrorism-related infractions and was not under police surveillance.
A bomb squad blew suspicious package near a rental truck parked outside an apartment building where Bouhlel lived. Two buildings have been evacuated.
Bouhlel was alone in the refrigerated truck used to carry out the attack, which had reportedly been rented a few days ago in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, a town about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, from Nice, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.
Dozens of bodies covered in blue sheets still lined the pavement next to the Promenade des Anglais on Friday morning as the police continued their work, a journalist for Le Figaro said.
A man near a French flag along the beachfront the day after the truck attack in Nice. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
French President François Hollande called the attack "an absolute horror" and said he would request that the state of emergency in France — which was due to end on July 26 — be extended for another three months.
Hollande also announced a special plan to call on to reserves of the police forces — those who have left the police forces in the past five years — to help with the protection of the French people. He said they would mostly be used to help police the country's borders.
The attacker's motive was unclear, though Hollande said the terrorist nature of the attack "cannot be denied."
"France has been hit on its national day," he continued, adding "our national symbol, because human rights are linked and attacked by fanatics."
Hollande added that France would "reinforce" its actions in Iraq and Syria in response to the violence, saying, "We will continue striking those who attack us on our own soil." The president held an emergency defence council at the Elysée on Friday morning.
Le Conseil restreint de sécurité et de défense est en cours autour de @fhollande après le terrible attentat de #Nice
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attack "cowardly and inhuman" and said France was faced with a war against terrorism, but he vowed that the country would not be destabilised.
"France has once again been hit in its flesh ... it was an attempt to reach French unity," he said.
"Terrorism weighs heavily on France and will do so for a long time," Valls added, saying that the only appropriate answer would be a united France.
A three-day national mourning period has been announced for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Hollande and Valls arrived in Nice at about noon on Friday.
The attack appeared to be the third major act of terrorism in France since January 2015, when 12 people were killed in a shooting at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's offices. Islamic State militants killed 130 people in a slew of shootings and bombings in Paris in November.
On Sunday, France had breathed a sigh of relief as the monthlong Euro 2016 soccer tournament ended without a feared attack.
But at about 10:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, the truck plowed into a crowd of spectators who had gathered to watch fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais seaside walk in the center of town. The attacker continued driving for more than a mile, the ranking politician of Alpes-Maritime Department told reporters.
More than 80 people were killed in the attack in Nice. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
The truck seemed to be driving at about "25 to 30" miles per hour, a witness told CNN. The street had been closed off and reserved for pedestrians when the truck drove through the crowd.
"He was 5 meters from me. I ran toward a safe place at Le Cocodil," Damien Allemand, a correspondent with the regional newspaper Nice-Matin, told BuzzFeed. "I went out after to see what happened. Nobody was moving anymore. In two minutes, the promenade became like a desert."
He said: "I went to the scene and it was ... I don't have words. There was blood everywhere, a guy cut in half."
French police forces and forensic officers seen Friday next to the truck used in the attack. Reuters
An eyewitness told CNN's Jim Sciutto that the truck driver "mowed bodies over" and "accelerated as he hit them."
"All of a sudden, thousands of people just started running in one direction," another witness told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I had no idea what was going on — we couldn't hear anything but screaming and crying ... no one knew what was going on, we all just knew we had to run for our lives."
Another witness said: "The sounds were really horrific. You could hear banging sounds as the truck drove over people."
"It was absolute chaos," an AFP correspondent reported. "We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around. I had to protect my face from flying debris."
US President Barack Obama, in a statement late Thursday, condemned the attack and said the US stood ready to aid France in responding and recovering.
Reuters
"On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians," Obama said in the statement.
"We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack," the statement continued. "On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German people stood in solidarity with France.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that she was "shocked and saddened by this horrifying attack" and that the government was working to establish whether British nationals were caught up in the attack.
"Our hearts go out to the French people and all those who have lost loved ones or been injured ... These were innocent victims enjoying a national celebration with their friends and families," May said.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted that he was "shocked and saddened by the appalling events in Nice, and the terrible loss of life." He also announced that a British national was injured during the attack.
Mayor Sadiq Khan of London said that the British capital stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" with France and that the "poisonous and evil" terrorists would be defeated.
He also added that he would review security measures in London: "I will reassure all Londoners that today we will be reviewing our own safety measures in light of this attack and that I and the Metropolitan Police commissioner will do everything possible to keep Londoners safe."
People crossing the street as a French soldier secured the area on Friday. Jean-Pierre Amet/Reuters
House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Twitter that, "Our hearts are with the victims of what appears to be yet another unconscionable act of terror."
The attack also provoked reaction from the American presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Trump canceled a planned Friday unveiling of his vice-presidential pick while attacking Clinton's "stupid policies." Clinton said the attack further reinforced that the US and its allies were at war with "radical jihadists."
The video below appears to show people fleeing the scene in panic:
Another video shows police officers chasing the truck as it speeds up along the promenade:
The German police have announced that they will beef up their controls at the French border.
"In coordination with the French security authorities the federal police are strengthening their control in the area of cross-border traffic into France," the police said in a statement.
This story is being updated with new details as they emerge.
Reuters, Natasha Bertrand, Bryan Logan, Peter Jacobs, and Barbara Tasch contributed reporting.
