He appeared to accelerate, swerving left and right to plow down as many people as possible as they tried to flee. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which is being investigated by the Paris anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office. Here’s everything we know about the horrific crash, the driver, and the aftermath.
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– The driver runs over adults and children along a two-kilometre (1.3-mile) path, swerving from the broad footpath back into the street to hit victims near landmarks that included Art Deco casinos and the Hotel Negresco.
President Hollande also stated that the country’s state of emergency has been extended three months from its previously declared end date of July 26, and that the borders of France will be protected by military reserves.
One Russian citizens and one Russian expatriate were killed in a terrorist attack in France’s Nice, two more Russian nationals are reported missing, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday citing preliminary information. He was named as the driver after police found an identification card, possibly a driver’s licence, in the cab of the delivery truck used in the attack.
But while a history of threats, violence and theft had brought him to the attention of police, Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Nice resident born in Tunisia, was not French intelligence services’ list of suspected militants. At least 10 children were killed in the attack and 25 of the injured were on life support, authorities said on Friday. Belgium was the target of a terror attack in March that killed 32 people and injured more than 300.
Russian Federation remains ready for close counterterrorism cooperation with France following the deadly attack in Nice, Putin said in a message to Hollande. Nice itself was home to a prolific producer of French-language jihadist recruitment videos, Omar Omsen, who is now fighting in Syria.
After visiting victims at Nice’s Pasteur hospital, Mr. Hollande said 50 people were still critical.
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School District 68 officials confirmed that a group of students and chaperones in Nice were safe in a tweet at around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
