UPDATE – you can read more about the identity of the truck driver HERE.
Tragedy. Outrage. Heartbreak. Anger.
Today marks another dark day for the people of France, with Bastille Day celebrations in Nice cut short after a man drove a truck through the gathered crowd.
At the time of writing the death toll stands at 84, although it will no doubt increase throughout the day as this tragedy unfolds.
So here’s the video of the exact moment the truck ploughed through the crowd – it will make your blood boil, and you don’t have to watch it, but we’ll leave it here and you do what you will:
Footage shows the moments truck rammed into crowd in Nice, France killing 73 and injuring 120.#NiceAttackpic.twitter.com/SF2vWAJbQO
— Press TV (@PressTV) July 14, 2016
Another video illustrating the terror that tore through the streets:
Once again the moment the truck went rogue – again, this doesn’t make for easy viewing:
The BBC with a summary of what we know:
A lorry has ploughed through a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations in the southern French city of Nice
At least 84 people are dead, including many children, the interior ministry says
A further 18 people are in a critical condition in hospital
The driver of the lorry was shot dead, French media report
French media reports say he was 31 and known to police
French President Francois Hollande said the country was “under the threat of Islamic terrorism”…
More from TIME:
…bodies were sent flying into the air as the heavy-duty white transport vehicle hit them on the Promenade des Anglais at about 10:30 p.m. local time, where people had gathered to watch fireworks by the Nice seafront. Videos taken by bystanders show the truck zigzagging as the driver apparently sought to hit as many people as possible as he drove along more than a mile of crowded road. Images from the scene show bodies sprawled along stretches of road.
An eyewitness describing the ordeal:
To give you an idea of how packed the streets were prior to the attacks, an aerial shot of the Bastille Day celebrations before the attack:
This from al Jazeera:
police killed the driver “apparently after an exchange of gunfire”. He said the truck was loaded with weapons and grenades.
In a live television address on the early hours of Friday, French President Francois Hollande said the attack was clearly a “terrorist” act.
“There’s no denying the terrorist nature of this attack of yet again the most extreme form of violence,” he said.
And more condemnation from politicians – BusinessInsider with Barack Obama:
“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. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loved ones of those killed, and we wish a full recovery for the many wounded. 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.
“On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world, and we know that the character of the French Republic will endure long after this devastating and tragic loss of life.”
Level headed from Obama, not so much from Newt Gingrich. This from Vox:
[He said] that the time had come to start testing Americans of “Muslim background” for their loyalty to the United States.
“We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported,” Gingrich said.
He went on to say that even looking at websites that promote terrorism should be a felony and punished with jail time…
Fine, we’ll check in on Trump:
We’ll end with two heartbreaking pictures going viral following the attack – first below from Huffington Post:
“My husband picked up the kids and started running, I turned around and just saw so many dead people. I even saw a baby with its head totally crushed,” Linda, an eyewitness, [said].
And then from Twitter – captioned ‘The summer has arrived’:
What a mess of a world we live in.
[sources:time&bbc&aljazeera&businessinsider&vox&huffingtonpost]
