NICE, France—French leaders extended the country’s 8-month-old state of emergency Friday and vowed to deploy thousands of police reservists on the streets after a Tunisian man drove a truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 202 others.
Thursday night’s massacre of pedestrians leaving a fireworks display along the southern city’s famed boulevard ended only after police killed the armed attacker in a hail of bullets.
Video shot by witnesses shows the truck coming under police gunfire as it drives through an intersection along the palm tree-lined Promenade des Anglais, which had been turned into a pedestrian walkway for the independence day celebrations. Crowds flee in panic, taking shelter in shops, hotels or leaping off the elevated pavement onto the beach below. Police finally surround the stationary truck and fatally shoot its driver.
“France was struck on the day of its national holiday, July 14, the symbol of liberty,” French President Francois Hollande said as he denounced “this monstrosity.”
Flags were lowered to half-staff in Nice, Paris, Brussels and many capitals across Europe. Hollande announced a three-month extension to the state of emergency imposed after the deadly Nov. 13 attacks on Paris and the government declared three days of national mourning to begin Saturday.
“Terrorism is a threat that weighs heavily upon France and will continue to weigh for a long time,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. “We are facing a war that terrorism has brought to us. The goal of terrorists is to instill fear and panic. And France is a great country, and a great democracy, that will not allow itself to be destabilized.”
But Hollande faced public anger after traveling to Nice, 690 kilometers (430 miles) south of Paris, to offer his condolences. He visited wounded people in two hospitals, including one where officials had treated about 50 children and teenagers for a wide range of injuries.
Molins said 52 of the 202 wounded in the attack remained in critical condition Friday night, 25 of them on life support. Among the dead, officials said, were 10 children as well as three Germans, two Americans, Moroccans and Armenians, and one person each from Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine. Two Scots were listed as missing.
Hollande and Christian Estrosi, the president of Nice’s regional government of Provence Alpes d'Azur, ran a gantlet of booing crowds as their convoy passed through Nice. Many of the cat-callers blamed government authorities for failing to enforce sufficient security measures following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.
“Mr. Estrosi is from the right. Mr. Hollande from the left. I say it and I say it loud: These two are killers,” said Christelle Hespel, a Nice resident who accused both of overseeing negligent security.
Hollande’s government, whose popularity has plumbed record lows, has recently been buffeted by allegations that France’s intelligence services have failed to get a handle on the country’s jihadist threat. France has known for years that it is a top ISIS target, and it is the biggest source for European recruits for ISIS, with more than 1,000 fighting in Syria or Iraq.
Estrosi said some of the city’s 1,200 security cameras had pinpointed the moment the attacker boarded the truck “in the hills of Nice” and were able to retrace his path to the promenade. He said he suspected Bouhleldid not act alone.
“Attacks aren’t prepared alone. Attacks are prepared with accomplices,” Estrosi said.
Broadcast footage showed a scene of horror along Nice’s promenade, with broken bodies splayed on the asphalt, some piled near one another, others bleeding onto the roadway or twisted into unnatural shapes.
Estrosi told BFM TV that “the driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him.”
Some people tried to escape into the water when they saw the careening truck, according to Eric Ciotti, a lawmaker who represents Nice.
Stephane Erbs was heading back to his car with his wife, Rachel, and their two children when he saw the white truck bearing down on their position. He told The Associated Press that his first instinct was to throw his 7-year-old son, Celion, out of harm’s way, while his wife pushed their daughter, 12-year-old Noemi, to safety.
“I threw him in the direction of the wall” that runs along the promenade, next to the beach, said Erbs, who broke seven ribs as he tried to get out of the way. His children were unharmed but by Friday afternoon his wife was still missing.
A Facebook site called “SOS Nice” has begun to attract posts from people hoping to be reunited with missing family members. The site was quickly filling up with photos, appeals and—in some cases—good news.
A nine-year-old and his family “have finally been found!” one recent post crowed atop a photo of a child in front of a birthday cake.
But it’s not clear that other appeals have been answered.
“No news from Claire who was at the fireworks,” one post said. “She’s 18 years old. If you find her or if you have information, please contact us.”
In Washington, the U.S. State Department and other sources confirmed that Sean Copeland, 51, and his son Brodie, 11, of Lakeway, Texas, were among the dead. They were on a European summer vacation that began with the running of the bulls in Spain.
“We are heartbroken and in shock over the loss of Brodie Copeland, an amazing son and brother who lit up our lives, and Sean Copeland, a wonderful husband and father,” the Copeland family said in a statement. “They are so loved.”
