The Austin American-Statesman identified them as father-son duo Sean Copeland, 51, and Brodie, 11, from Lakeway, Texas, citing a statement from their family.
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Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Moscow for meetings with Russian leaders, said the U.S. Embassy in Paris “is making every effort to account for the welfare of U.S. citizens in Nice”.
The officials spoke to the wire service on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the attack.
In striking the jewel of the French Riviera on a national holiday the truck attack on Nice delivered a new blow to France’s tourism sector already reeling from repeated terror attacks.
Mr Hollande said it was not immediately clear whether the driver had accomplices.
A truck smashed through bystanders near the iconic Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
But as the last firework fizzled, the gunfire rang out and the white truck accelerated down the crowded street.
Copeland was one of at least 10 children killed in the attack; his father was also slain. Police shot and killed the attacker.
Nader said he saw the driver pull out a gun and start shooting at police.
She said it was the “scariest thing ever running through crowds with boys”.
“Dear Francois, Russia knows what terror is and the threats that it creates for all of us”.
They took cover in a restaurant where they remained for two hours, until police came to tell them it was safe to come out.
Over a hundred are believed to be injured.
Bastille Day is a celebration of everything France holds dear – its secular republic and the values of “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity).
He said that the day is a “symbol of liberty”, and that “human rights are denied by fanatics and France is quite clearly their target”.
“Neither the place nor the date are coincidental”, a former French intelligence agent and security consultant, Claude Moniquet, told France-Info, noting the jihadist presence in Nice and the fact that July 14 marks France’s revolution.
In January that year, a series of attacks in greater Paris struck a French satirical magazine, a kosher market and police officers, leaving 17 people dead over a three-day period. The state of emergency was extended by three months.
“We have an enemy who is going to continue to strike all the people, all the countries who have freedom as a fundamental value”, Hollande said. “Bodies everywhere”, he said. Estrosi said surveillance footage showed the attacker boarded the truck “in the hills of Nice”.
She estimated the truck moved at 20 to 25 miles per hour.
“There was carnage on the road”, he said. She said: “If, as we fear, this was a terrorist attack then we must redouble our efforts to defeat these brutal murderers who want to destroy our way of life”.
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Paul Delane, another American, described the chaos. People ran, screamed, wept.
