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Dozens of people are dead after a truck plowed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France. Here's what we know so far.
Police officers and rescue workers stand near a van that plowed into a crowd in the French Riviera town of Nice on July 14, 2016.(Photo: Valery Hache, AFP/Getty Images)
Eighty<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people were killed and another 50 hurt in Nice, France, Thursday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>night after a truck filled with grenades and weapons<span style="color: Red;">*</span>plowed through<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a crowd<span style="color: Red;">*</span>celebrating Bastille Day<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the resort town, according to French authorities.
Eighteen people were hurt critically, the Associated Press reported.
The French Interior Ministry issued a statement on Twitter saying the driver of the truck was dead. “The individual who drove the truck was neutralized,” the ministry statement read. “The investigation will determine whether he acted alone.”
USA TODAY
Grief, condolences and prayers flood social media after Nice attack
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi told BFM TV that the truck was loaded with grenades and weapons and the driver fired at the crowd, according to police. It was not clear what the driver intended to do with the explosives.
Estrosi told the news organization that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the truck had been driven by someone who appeared to have “completely premeditated behavior.”
French President Francoise Hollande addressed the nation on Friday, saying "horror has struck France again," an apparent reference to terror attacks in January 2015 and in November that, together, left almost 150 people dead. He said the attack was of a "terrorist character" and extended the state of emergency put in place after the November attacks.
Authorities stopped short of calling it a terrorist act, but the Paris prosecutor's office announced it was opening an investigation for "murder, attempted murder in an organized group linked to a terrorist enterprise."
Cher niçois, le chauffeur d'un camion semble avoir fait des dizaines de morts. Restez pour le moment à votre domicile. Plus d'infos à venir
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) July 14, 2016
Word of the situation trickled out to the world after Estrosi sent a tweet<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about 5:30 p.m. ET that translated to:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Dear Nice, the driver of a truck seems to have left dozens dead."
"This is the worst drama in the history of Nice," Estrosi's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tweet read.
President Obama was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apprised of the situation, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price told reporters Thursday. The president later released<span style="color: Red;">*</span>harsh words regarding the developing situation.
USA TODAY
Truck plows into crowd in France: What we know
"On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians," the president said in a statement released Thursday night. "I have directed my team to be in touch with French officials, and we have offered any assistance that they may need to investigate this attack and bring those responsible to justice. We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack."
Witnesses described a horrific scene.
"Thank God we decided not to take the young ones" to see the Bastille Day fireworks, witness Yves Lamorelle told USA TODAY.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I am the only one who went. It was completely crazy, the crowd panicked and everyone was trying to flee."
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He added, "I was having a drink but after a few minutes people started running toward us from the promenade ...<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Then all the cafe terraces started to clear out<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a scary type of chaos.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The tables, the chairs, the glasses got turned over. People were stepping on top of each other without even knowing why."
USA TODAY
What is Bastille Day?
"People were running —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it's panic," a journalist from Nice told Le Monde. "The scene is awash in blood of the wounded."
"White truck literally racing through crowds of all ages," witness Andrew Botros told NBC News. "People either caught in path or forced to jump onto rocks over beach barrier," he said.
"The driver was obviously determined to crash —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the truck drove onto the pavement<span style="color: Red;">*</span>eight feet from where we were standing," a witness told a newspaper in Nice-Matin.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I saw people fall, a small child on the ground."
USA TODAY
Trump postpones veep announcement after France attack
The truck plowed into the crowd as people were observing Bastille Day, a holiday celebrated in France and in French-speaking regions that commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution.
The Marquis<span style="color: Red;">*</span>de Lafayette, a hero in the American Revolution, later presented the key to the Bastille gate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to first U.S. president George Washington as a token of his admiration. The key remains on display at Washington's home, Mount Vernon, in northern Virginia.
If found to be the work of terrorists, the rampage could mark the third such act in France since January of last year.
Twenty-four young people from the Richmond, Va., on vacation in Nice were found to be safe, Henrico County (Va.)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Schools spokesman Andrew Jenks told WWBT-TV. Thirteen high school students and 11 recent graduates are there on a non-school related trip, Jenks told the news organization.
The group did not know of the attack until returning to the place where they are staying, Jenks told WWBT.
On Jan. 7, 2015, Islamist militant brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi attacked the Charlie Hebdo magazine<span style="color: Red;">*</span>offices in Paris, beginning three days of terror that left 17 people dead. The victims included a policewoman and hostages at a kosher grocery who were killed by another militant, Amedy Coulibaly. All three attackers were killed in standoffs with police.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility.
On Nov. 13, 2015, 130 people died in a series of coordinated attacks across Paris that included explosives and shots fired at a concert hall during a performance by Eagles of Death Metal, a California rock band. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said via Twitter that he was postponing his vice presidential announcement on Friday due to the situation in Nice.
Contributing: Maya Vidon in Sainte Maxime, France?;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Jabeen Bhatti in Berlin; Matthew Diebel and Jessica Durando<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in McLean, Va.; The Associated Press
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