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Attack on Nice: How it unfolded and what you need to know
A woman places a bouquet of flowers near the scene where a truck ran into a crowd in Nice, France, on July 15, 2016.

A woman places a bouquet of flowers near the scene where a truck ran into a crowd in Nice, France, on July 15, 2016.

PASCAL ROSSIGNOL/REUTERS

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This article was published more than 7 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

THE BASICS

  • Eighty-four people are dead and scores injured after a truck drove down a street in Nice, France, running over pedestrians
  • French President Francois Hollande calls it terrorism
  • The truck’s driver was shot and killed by police
  • The driver was identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Frenchman of Tunisian descent
  • Mr. Bouhlel had a history as a petty criminal, and the Paris prosecutor said he had recently developed an interest in radical Islam, but he had no known links to militant extremists
  • Authorities have extended the country’s eight-month-old state of emergency, vowing to deploy thousands of police reservists
  • The dead included Mykhaylo (Misha) Bazelevskyy, a Ukranian citizen with permenant residency in Canada who was studying at McEwan University in Edmonton, the school confirmed on July 20

THE VICTIMS

  • Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said on July 15 that 84 people were killed
  • The casualties included Mykhaylo (Misha) Bazelevskyy, 22, a permanent resident of Canada who was travelling under his Ukrainian passport; he one of five students from Edmonton’s MacEwan University, who, along with a faculty member, had travelled to France for a three-week entrepreneurship and innovation training program
  • The victims include French, American, Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish and Turkish citizens, according to reports from relatives and various national foreign ministries

Nice awakes to carnage of Bastille Day attack

1:09

THE SUSPECT

  • The driver was identified by the Paris prosecutor’s office as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Frenchman of Tunisian descent
  • Mr. Bouhlel’s ex-wife was taken into police custody, but later released
  • He had been convicted in a road-rage incident in March
  • Mr. Bouhlel was not on the watchlist of French intelligence services, authorities said

HOW THE ATTACK UNFOLDED

  • The suspect drove a heavy, long-distance truck into a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks
  • The truck zigzagged for two kilometres along the famed Promenade des Anglais seafront, hitting the mass of spectators
  • The truck was at one point going about 90 kilometres an hour, regional government chief Christian Estrosi said
  • The suspect shot several times at policemen before his vehicle was stopped and he was killed, the Paris prosecutor said

Map showing path taken by truck in attack on Nice promenade
For context: Here’s what the distance of the attacker’s route would look like in some major Canadian cities.

A timeline of the worst European attacks since 2014 (warning: graphic content)

1:47

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

Canadian Héloïse Landry, who is on vacation in Nice with her daughter, told The Globe:

We were out for the fireworks for Bastille Day, exactly where the attack happened. What we saw before was a very quiet atmosphere. I even asked my friend from Nice, ‘Is it usually this calm for Bastille Day?’ It was a bit like the quiet before the storm. When the fireworks were over, we went back home; I live at my friend’s apartment, which is right next to the promenade (where the attack happened)… The moment we got inside the home, we heard the sound of bodies hitting metal, and we haven’t left the apartment since because authorities have asked us to stay inside. It’s a bit of a paradox. The whole world is talking about this, but we’re completely isolated inside the home. We have no television.

‘We’re still in shock’: Witness describes Nice attack

1:05


FRANCE IN MOURNING

France held three days of national mourning after the attack.

The Tour de France continued as planned after the attack, with reinforced security, starting in the small town of Bourg-Saint-Andeol.

POLITICAL REACTIONS

French President Francois Hollande called it terrorism and immediately extended by three months his country's state of emergency, which had been due to expire later this month.

‘An action that was completely structured and premeditated’: regional president

0:38

"France was struck on the day of its national fete, July 14, the symbol of liberty," a sombre Mr. Hollande said on national television early Friday, denouncing "this monstrosity" — a truck bearing down on citizens "with the intention of killing, smashing and massacring … an absolute violence."

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned "what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack." He was briefed on Thursday, the White House said. Noting that the attack occurred on Bastille Day, Mr. Obama praised "the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement offering condolences after the attack, and spoke about it again in Calgary on Friday on a visit to the Calgary Stampede. "Canada stands with France as a steadfast ally and we will work with the international community to fight terror to ensure that we live in a peaceful world," he said.

At a formal reception in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre ordered flags at City Hall to be flown at half-mast and quickly released a statement in which he expressed shock over the scope of the deadly attack.

Quebeckers mourn for victims of Nice attacks In some corners of Montreal, home to more than 100,000 French citizens, Bastille Day is celebrated with nearly the same fervour as in the streets of Paris. Now the city grieves.

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump announced on Twitter that, because of the attack, he has postponed a news conference scheduled for Friday in which he intended to announce his vice-president. (He later made the announcement on Twitter, saying Indiana Governor Mike Pence would be his running mate.)

Canadian, world leaders proclaim solidarity with France after attack Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders offered solidarity with France on Thursday after an attack described as terrorism by French President Francois Hollande killed up to 80 people.


HOW TO HELP

Canadian citizens in Nice requiring emergency consular assistance should contact Canada's embassy in Paris at 33 (0)1 44 43 29 02. Canadian citizens in Nice or friends and relatives of Canadian citizens known to be in Nice should call Global Affairs Canada's 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre collect at (613) 996-8885 or 1-800-387-3124. An e-mail can also be sent to sos@international.gc.ca.

MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL

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History of lone-wolf vehicle attacks suggests risk of emulation is very real Terror by truck (or van or car) has become increasingly popular as a tactic, used almost exclusively by so-called lone wolves, people who are inspired by, but not managed by, a radical religious or politically oriented organization or speaker.