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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.
Rescue workers help an injured woman after a truck drove into a crowd watching fireworks in Nice, France.(Photo: Valery Hache. AFP/Getty Images)
Another terrorist attack hit France<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as a truck plowed into a crowd watching Bastille<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Day festivities in Nice on Thursday, killing at least 80 people and injuring 50 others, French officials say.
French authorities are still gathering information about the horrific incident. Multiple witnesses and officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>described the chaotic scene in detail as people were celebrating the festive holiday in French Riviera.
Here's what we know at the moment:
[h=2]What took place?[/h]A truck unexpectedly smashed through bystanders near the iconic<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Promenade des Anglais in Nice. People were observing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bastille Day: the anniversary of a mob<span style="color: Red;">*</span>storming<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a looming fortress that held political prisoners two<span style="color: Red;">*</span>days after<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>French Revolution<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Paris started in 1789.
Video footage showed men and women — one or two pushing strollers — racing to get away from the promenade with broken bodies splayed out on the asphalt, some of them piled near one another, others bleeding out onto the roadway or twisted into unnatural shapes.
Word of the incident trickled out on social media after Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi<span style="color: Red;">*</span>sent a tweet<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that translated to, "Dear Nice residents, the driver of a truck seems to have killed dozens. Stay in your homes for now."
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
Witnesses described the horrific scene in gruesome detail.
"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."
"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."
[h=2]How far did the truck drive?<span style="color: Red;">*</span><span style="color: Red;">*</span>[/h]A ranking politician from the Alpes-Maritime department<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the truck driver plowed into the unsuspecting crowd over a distance of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). The driver turned onto<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Promenade des Anglais at about 10:30 p.m. ET, The New York Times reported.
Sylvie<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Toffin, a press officer with the local prefecture, said the truck ran over people down the sidewalk near Nice’s Palais de la Mediterranee, a building that fronts the famous seaside boulevard.
USA TODAY
Vehicles of terror: France has seen this before
[h=2]How many deaths and injuries?[/h]The death toll increased through the night, reaching 80 late Thursday. The attack<span style="color: Red;">*</span>left another 50 people injured in the resort town, according to French officials. 18 people remain in critical condition, the Associated Press reported.
[h=2]Who was the truck driver?[/h]The identity of the driver was not disclosed.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>French Interior Ministry issued a statement on Twitter confirming the driver of the truck was dead. “The individual who drove the truck was neutralized,” said the ministry statement. “The investigation will determine whether he acted alone.”
“The identification of the criminal is in progress,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, refusing to confirm reports that an ID card was found after police shot the truck driver dead.
[h=2]What was found inside the truck?[/h]Estrosi, who also serves as the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>regional council president of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the truck was loaded with arms and grenades. Estrosi told BFM TV that “the driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him.”
USA TODAY
Images from the scene of the horrific attack in Nice
[h=2]Was the incident terror-related?[/h]It's not immediately clear at this point, though French authorities are not ruling out the possibility. France president Francois Hollande said the truck attack<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was of a "terrorist character."
Hollande addressed his nation hours after the attack and extended France's state of emergency by three months. The state of emergency, originally scheduled to end July 26, were in place stemming<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from the January and November 2015 attacks that, together, left almost 150 people dead.
“We have to demonstrate absolute vigilance,” Hollande said in his press conference. “We have to increase ... our level of protection. France will always be stronger than the fanatics who want to strike her today."
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Contributing: Melanie Eversley, Maya Vidon in Sainte Maxime, France;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Jabeen Bhatti in Berlin; Matthew Diebel in McLean, Va.; Associated Press.
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