Terrorist attack in Nice, France leaves 84 dead & more than 200 injured

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Yesterday, a truck drove into a crowd killing 84 people and injuring 202 others on a beach in Nice, France, who had gathered there to watch fireworks for the national holiday Bastille Day. Of the 84 dead, 10 were children.

The French president, François Hollande, said the “terroristic character” of the attack “cannot be denied” and vowed that France would stay strong in the face of “fanatics.”

“We will not give in to the terrorist threat,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Friday morning after a cabinet meeting led by President François Hollande. “The times have changed, and France is going to have to live with terrorism.”

Note: this is a developing story and more information will surface as time goes on.

The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, identified the attacker as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, 31, a delivery-truck driver who was born on Jan. 3, 1985, and raised in Msaken, a town in northeastern Tunisia.

Bouhlel drove his truck through a crowd of people who were celebrating Bastille Day, France’s national holiday, with fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais, a crowded stretch of beach in Nice. The attack took place during the fireworks show.

Bouhlel was completely unknown to national and regional intelligence, according to Paris prosecutor François Molins. There was no record that he had been radicalized in any way. He was armed with a handgun and had a pistol and two rifles, as well as an “inactive” grenade, according to Molins. Bouhlel fired on police several times before police killed him.

Police are still investigating whether Bouhlel had accomplices, how he obtained the weapons, and whether he was in contact with terrorist groups. No organized group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although online accounts associated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have cheered it.

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Founded in 1976, Out Front is the largest LGBTQ news organization in the Rocky Mountains. "Like" Out Front on Facebook: facebook.com/outfrontcolorado, and follow us on Twitter: @outfrontco.