The driver of the truck which ploughed through Bastille Day in Nice killing at least 84 people has been identified as Mohamad Lahouaiej Bouhel, French officials said.
The 31-year old French-Tunisian was shot dead by police and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the Thursday night attack that took place on France's national holiday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced a three day national mourning on Friday from July 16-18 after a large truck ploughed through revellers gathered for Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, killing at least 84 people.
France was still dealing with the aftermath of two attacks in Paris in 2015 that killed a total of 147 people.
"Terrorism is a threat that weighs heavily upon France and will continue to weigh for a long time," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after an emergency government meeting on Friday.
The truck ploughed into the crowd over a distance of two kilometers (about 1.2 miles), a lawmaker said, and broadcast footage showed a scene of horror up and down the promenade, with broken bodies splayed on the asphalt, some piled near one another, others bleeding onto the roadway or twisted into unnatural shapes.
Some tried to escape into the water, Eric Ciotti, a lawmaker for the region that includes Nice said Friday, giving new details of the horrifying last minutes of the attack.
"A person jumped onto the truck to try to stop it," Ciotti told Europe 1 radio.
Flags were lowered to half-staff in Nice and in Paris, and Hollande extended the state of emergency imposed after the November bloodshed another three months. The government declared three days of national mourning to begin Saturday.
"France was struck on the day of its national holiday, July 14, the symbol of liberty," Hollande said early on Friday, denouncing "this monstrosity" — a truck bearing down on citizens "with the intention of killing, smashing and massacring ... an absolute violence."
Comments
0 comment