NICE, France — The death toll continued to climb Friday as forensics teams combed the scene where a truck driver mowed down dozens of revelers after a fireworks display at the French seaside. Police told to NBC News that 84 people were now confirmed dead following the attack in the coastal city of Nice.
Bastille Day celebrations were transformed into scenes of chaos and carnage after the white vehicle careered down the packed promenade. People were knocked down and thrown about like bowling pins and blood stained the pavement. Sirens and screams filled the air.
Many children were among the dead and dozens more were among the wounded, according to French officials. Early Friday the truck was still parked where a hail of police bullets had stopped the driver’s deadly spree. Investigators pored over the scene under a hot sun as authorities maintained a wide perimeter.
One witness said that the truck driver pulled out a handgun and recounted how he found himself “in the middle of the gun shooting.”
It was unclear whether the driver acted alone. French media said ID papers belonging to a French-Tunisian were found in the truck. By early Friday, no terror group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The promenade, typically teeming with tourists, was largely empty on Friday morning. Signs of the previous night’s horror were everywhere: a purse lying on the ground, a trampled bicycle, broken glass in the street.The timing — equivalent to striking the U.S. on the Fourth of July — hit especially hard, one local business owner told NBC News.
The owner of Le Queenie, oldest brasserie on the promenade, said his restaurant was full when the truck began its deadly drive. Hours later, bodies still lay where they fell. “It was like a riot with people screaming,” he said.French President Francois Hollande on Friday declared three days of national mourning and flew to Nice immediately after chairing an emergency meeting of the security and defense council.
“Terrorism is a threat that weighs heavily upon France and will continue to weigh for a long time,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after the emergency meeting. “We are facing a war that terrorism has brought to us.”
Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve joined the president in Nice, where they met with police and local officials before going to a hospital to visit the wounded. France has been under a state of emergency since a deadly spree of terror attacks in Paris in November.
It was due to be lifted on July 26 — but those plans were put on hold in wake of the Nice attack.World leaders were quick to offer solidarity and condolences over the attack, with President Barack Obama offering “any assistance” that France might need to investigate and “bring those responsible to justice.”
Pope Francis also lent support, with the Vatican saying: “We condemn in the strongest way every demonstration of senseless violence, of hatred, terrorism and any attack against peace.” As investigators hunted for clues behind a potential motive, the identities of those he killed began trickling out.
Two Americans — a father and his 11-year-old son — were among the victims.The State Department said it was working with French officials to determine if other U.S. citizens were injured in the attack.
Nearly 40 injured people were brought to the Lenval children’s hospital following the incident — all but 9 were children and teens. The youngest victim was just around six months old, according to hospital spokeswoman Stephanie Simpson.
“They were in a bad state … A lot of trauma, broken legs,” she told NBC News, adding that two of the children did not make it. Because the hospital only treats children, the adults who came in were transferred to other hospitals. Three have since died, according to Simpson. She praised hospital staff for their response to the unprecedented crisis.
“Our staff was really ready for this and really prepared — even expecting, because Nice was really on a red mark for attacks,” she said. “We were really ready.” Thursday wasn’t the first time a vehicle has been used as a deadly weapon in France. Two attacks in December 2014 involving vehicles killed one person and wounded 20, according to the IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center. Another attack in January in Valence wounded a soldier.
The city of London — where an off-duty soldier was run over by a car then fatally stabbed in May 2013 — will review security measures in wake of the Nice attack, Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement.