Late Thursday night a large truck drove into a large crowd on the main street in Nice, France. 84 people are dead, with over 200 injured, with over 50 still in critical condition.
Hundreds of people were gathered along Promenade des Anglais to celebrate Bastille Day, a French national holiday, when gunfire rang out and a truck began to accelerate down the street. The driver of the vehicle was shot and killed by police after driving over 100 meters through the large crowd.
The mayor of Nice says that it is the worst tragedy in Nice’s history:
Il s’agit du pire drame de l’histoire de Nice car plus de 70 victimes sont déjà à déplorer.
— Philippe Pradal (@p_pradal) July 14, 2016
The truck was searched and was found to be filled with various weapons, including grenades and other explosives. France’s anti-terrorism unit has taken over the investigation as the attack has been labeled a terrorist assault.
The driver of the truck has been identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian resident of Nice. He has a criminal record and, according to The Telegraph, was a loner that recently became depressed after his wife left him. He had no known terrorist connections and no groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Paris, which has been under a state of emergency since the ISIS attacks last November, will extend this status through the originally planned July 26 cut off.
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated as information becomes available.
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