By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Celebrations in Nice took a deadly turn when Mohamad Bouhel ran over and shot at dozens before being killed by French police.
In Nice, the Promenade des Anglais filled with a crowd of French natives and tourists Thursday evening to watch the Bastille Day fireworks.
A mile away, Mohamad Lahouaiej Bouhel, a 31-year-old French-Tunisian man, turned the keys in a truck that he would later drive at high speeds through the crowd—killing more than 80 people, including children, and critically injuring 50.
Bouhel was identified Friday morning as the driver in France’s third terror-based killing in 18 months. He mowed down passersby on the promenade and fired a gun on the crowd from the cab, witnesses have reported. French police killed Bouhel after he stopped in front of the Hotel Westminster.
“We cannot deny the terrorist nature of this attack,” French President François Hollande said in a statement.
French authorities have yet to find any ties between Bouhel and Islamist or other terrorist groups, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Witnesses told news site France 24 that the grisly scene resembled a “bowling game…people were flying through the air.” Emergency personnel covered bodies in blue tarps, which dotted the promenade as the sun rose. Another witness said there was a blue tarp every 30 feet.
“We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement on the attack.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has called to lengthen France’s state of emergency, which was set to expire this month after the latest terror attack November in Paris.
This is a developing story.
