NICE: A terrorist gunman drove a heavy truck at high speed killed 84 people and wounded scores that had watched Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice late on Thursday, officials said.
A spokesman for the French interior ministry said 84 people died and 18 were in a critical condition. Many more were also wounded in the attack along the famed seafront Promenade des Anglais as the fireworks ended just after 10:30pm (2030 GMT).
The driver also opened fire before police shot him dead.
“At the moment that he was shot dead by police, he had fired several times,” said president of the region Christian Estrosi.
Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the 19-tonne truck. The truck was riddled with bullet holes and badly damaged, with burst tyres.
In a pre-dawn address to the nation, President Francois Hollande said he was calling up military and police reservists to relieve forces worn out by an eight-month state of emergency begun after the Islamic State militant group killed 130 people in Paris. The state of emergency was extended by three months.
“France is filled with sadness by this new tragedy,” Hollande said, noting several children were among the dead in what he said he had no doubt was an act of terrorism. See more photos…
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| This couple was having a nice time before the attack |
