2016 Nice truck attack - Misplaced Pages

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2016 Nice attack
Part of Terrorism in France
The Promenade des Anglais (next to the beach), where the attack took place
Route of the attacker from west to east
Location	Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
Coordinates	43°41′37″N 7°15′21″E / 43.6936°N 7.2557°E / 43.6936; 7.2557
Date	14 July 2016 (2016-07-14) (Bastille Day) c. 22:40 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Attack type	Vehicular assault
Weapons	Cargo truck and a handgun
Deaths	84+ (including the perpetrator)
Injured	202 (52 critically)
Perpetrator	Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel

On the evening of 14 July 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Tunisian resident of France, deliberately drove a cargo truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, killing at least 84 people and injuring hundreds more. Bouhlel was shot and killed by police. The incident was described as the third major terrorist attack in France since January 2015, following the Île-de-France attacks on 7–9 January 2015 and a series of coordinated attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015.

Background

On the morning before the attack, French President François Hollande reaffirmed that the state of emergency put in place after the November 2015 Paris attacks would end after the Tour de France finished on 26 July 2016. France had just finished hosting the Euro 2016 football tournament, during which the country had extensive security measures in place and deployed many more soldiers.

The Nice attack follows a series of vehicle attacks on civilians, including ones in Dijon and Nantes. Both the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda have encouraged sympathizers living in Western countries to carry out such attacks. More than 20 ideologically-motivated lone wolf vehicle attacks have been carried out in Western countries during the past decade, including the aforementioned pair of attacks in France, one occurring the day after the other, in 2014.

Attack

On the evening of 14 July 2016, thousands of people had gathered along the waterfront of Nice, France, to watch the Bastille Day firework display. The mood of the crowd was celebratory.

At approximately 22:10 CEST (20:10 UTC), 30 minutes before the incident, a large white cargo truck was seen approaching the Promenade des Anglais. "He was speeding up, braking, speeding up again and braking again. We thought it was weird," said Laicia Baroi, an eyewitness. The truck then doubled back towards the airport and breached the vehicle barriers opposite the Lenval children's hospital. The truck was moving slowly, and a motorcyclist pulled up alongside and tried to open the truck door. The truck ran over the motorcyclist after he fell off. Watching this, two nearby police officers opened fire on the truck. At this point, the driver sped up towards the Promenade.

The fireworks were just finishing at approximately 22:40 CEST (20:40 UTC), when the truck, moving at high speed, plunged into the crowds on the Promenade. It was swerving to hit pedestrians. Police tried to stop it with gunfire, and the driver shot back at them, as well as at people in the crowd.

The driver continued for 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), killing and injuring pedestrians. Police surrounded the truck near the Palais de la Méditerranée hotel. The vehicle was raked with gunfire and the driver inside killed.

Victims

Nationalities of victims
Nationality	Dead	Injured
Algeria	3
Armenia	2
Australia		3
Belgium	1	1
Brazil		1
China		2
Estonia		3
France	5
Germany	3	2
Ireland		1
Italy		3
Kazakhstan	1
Morocco	3
Poland	2
Portugal		1
Russia	2	1
Romania		2
Switzerland	2
Tunisia	3
Ukraine	1	2
United Kingdom	1
United States	2
Currently unknown	54	184
Total	84+	202

In total, there have been 84 deaths from the attack and 52 people are critically ill and receiving emergency treatment for their injuries. Along with the many French people killed, several foreigners were also among the dead. There were reportedly many Muslims who were among the 84 people killed in the attack, according to an Iranian journalist who saw several people with scarves or speaking Arabic. Multiple British people have been injured, according to the UK government. The Berlin School Board in Germany announced that two of their high school students and a teacher from Paula-Fürst-Gemeinschaftsschule in Charlottenburg were among those killed.

Perpetrator

Main article: Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel

After the attack, French media identified the perpetrator, whose identity papers were found in the truck, as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old man of Tunisian nationality, born in Tunisia, with a French residency permit and living in Nice. He was reported to have had financial difficulties and to have worked as a driver, acquiring a truck permit less than a year before the attack. His parents are divorced and live in France. According to media reports, Bouhlel was known to police for five prior criminal offenses, notably regarding armed violence. He was, however, not registered as a national security risk (fiche "S") with French authorities.

Reports that the perpetrator shouted "Allahu Akbar!" during the attack have not been confirmed by officials. Bouhlel was not known by Tunisian authorities to have been involved in any terrorism activities on Tunisian soil. The French prosecutor stated that the attack "bore the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism" but that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack, and a preliminary investigation by French officials has not connected Bouhlel to any international terror groups. According to a cousin of Bouhlel's wife, Bouhlel was not a religious person and did not attend a mosque.

Reactions

Immediately after the attack, when it remained unclear whether the threat had ended, people used social media, particularly Twitter, to help others find shelter, using the hashtag #PortesOuvertesNice (open doors Nice), a variation of a hashtag used in other recent attacks in France.

President François Hollande returned to Paris from Avignon to have an emergency Interior Ministry meeting regarding the attacks. Hollande addressed the French nation in a televised broadcast from Paris in the early morning of 15 July 2016 announcing future measures against terrorism, including a three-month extension of the state of emergency, previously due to end on 26 July. He also announced that more security personnel would be deployed. The Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls later announced that there would be three days of national mourning on 16–18 July.

Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve initiated the ORSEC plan immediately following the attacks.