In an address to the nation Friday morning, a visibly distressed Hollande expressed his “horror” at the fact that terrorism had once more struck the nation, and on Bastille Day, the national holiday celebrating the French Revolution.
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Local mayor Estrosi has warned in the past of the risk of Islamist attacks in the region, following Islamic State bloodshed in Paris and Brussels over the past 18 months. But the truck accelerated through an intersection into screaming crowds, where Gutjahr could hear the final confrontation involving 15 to 20 seconds of gunfire. The terrorist attack killed 84 people and injured more than 200, many of them children.
France has declared three days of national mourning following the atrocity, which comes after attacks in November in Paris in which 130 died and in January 2015 that killed 17.
Although the road was cordoned off, the driver managed to drive more than a mile along the packed waterfront strip before being shot by police. There have been at least three small-scale attacks in France using this methodology. Two Chinese citizens were also injured, the Chinese consulate in Marseille told CNN.
Bouhlel’s brother, Jabeur, said he still doubted whether his sibling was the attacker.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Friday said Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was “probably linked to radical Islam in one way or another”, although Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve cautioned that it was too early to confirm such a link.
Hollande, who was already widely unpopular in France and is up for re-election, is facing increased pressure after the Bastille Day attack-the latest in a series of terrorist strikes to take place under his watch.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
“I wanted to see the paradise”, he said.
About 25 minutes before the fireworks show, he clambered aboard and drove it toward the city – and the promenade milling with crowds near Nice’s glittering hotels. “It happened so fast, it was like in slow motion”.
Paul Delane, an American, described the chaos.
Damien Allemand, the paper’s correspondent, was quoted as saying: “People are running”.
Facebook’s check-in feature however performed much more effectively, and French politicans urged the people of Nice to abandon the government-created app and to utilise the Facebook feature to alert loved ones that they were safe.
And while the officials themselves wouldn’t name the two Americans killed, family members confirmed to ABC that they are Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son Brodie, Texas natives visiting the area on a vacation.
“Why would my brother do something like this?” he said.
Anti-terror prosecutors have taken over the investigation, according to BFMTV, citing the prosecutor’s office. The Bastille Day truck attack in Nice killed 84 people of all ages and nationalities, including 10 children and teenagers who were out enjoying a fireworks display on a warm summer evening. The driver was a Nice resident, according to the Nice Matin newspaper. Hospitals in the city have launched an urgent appeal for blood donors. No major attacks occurred during the event. Also found were four fake guns, a malfunctioning grenade, a mobile phone, a driver’s license and a bank card. He said he suspected Bouhlel did not act alone.
If this was indeed a terrorist attack then it is of the type most feared by security and intelligence services – the lone wolf.
Before the start of Ramadan, at the end of May, Adnani called on jihadists to attack the “infidels” everywhere and kill them with any mean possible.
Leaders around the world have denounced the brutal incident.
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned what he said “appears to be a horrific terrorist attack”. Le Pen added that she hoped France would implement “a set of measures” she has proposed to combat terror, including stripping Islamists of their French citizenry even if they were born in the country, and cracking down on the influx of Syrian migrants.
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Unlike other recent attacks, numerous victims in Nice are children and teenagers.
