Dozens Killed in Terrorist Attack During Bastille Day Parade in Nice
NICE, France – Terror has once again struck the streets of France after a heavy truck slammed into a crowd of people Thursday watching a parade celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 84 people and injuring dozens of others, including many children.
At least 18 of those injured in the attack remain in critical condition, local medical staff and France's interior ministry said.
According to unconfirmed reports, the driver was a 31-year-old local of Tunisian origin.
Local newspaper Nice-Matin reported the man had firearms and grenades in the truck with him at the time of the attack.
Witnesses said the driver ploughed through hundreds of people for nearly 2km along the city’s Promenade des Anglais at about 11:00PM local time, before being shot dead by police.
The driver zigzagged through the crowd at 50km/h so he could hit as many people as possible, with stunned parents frantically throwing their children over fences to avoid them being struck by the truck, according to eyewitness reports.
The attack came just eight months after ISIS gunmen killed 130 people in Paris.
French President Francois Hollande called the deadly attack “an undeniable act of terrorism” and extended the national state of emergency that had been imposed following the November Paris attacks for an additional three months.
"France is badly hit," Hollande said, adding that "we need to do everything we can to fight against such attacks. All of France is under the threat of Islamic terrorism," he said.
Hollande said soldiers would be deployed to support the local gendarmes and police.
Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said that officials were investigating whether the driver acted alone.
No group has so far claimed responsibility, but prosecutors said the inquiry would be handled by anti-terror investigators from France's intelligence services.
Georgia’s Embassy in France released a statement saying none of the listed victims were of Georgian origin.