A truck plowed into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, on Thursday, killing up to 84 people and injuring dozens more.
As crowds celebrating French National Day gathered along the Riviera city’s Promenade des Anglais to watch a fireworks display, a cargo truck careened down the street for more than a mile, reportedly zig-zagging to maximize pedestrian casualties.
The driver was killed by authorities, after what Agence France Presse reports was an exchange of gunfire. It is unclear whether or not there were any accomplices, but a number of guns and grenades were found aboard the truck.
French newspaper Nice-Matin is reporting that the suspect was a 31-year-old Nice resident of Tunisian origin, but authorities have yet to release any official details concerning the perpetrator’s identity.
The motive for the attack remains unclear, but AP reports that anti-terrorism authorities have taken over the investigation of what President Obama says “appears to be a horrific terrorist attack.” No one has yet claimed credit for the tragedy.
Obama released a statement condemning the attacks, saying, “We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack. On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world, and we know that the character of the French Republic will endure long after this devastating and tragic loss of life.”
French President Francois Hollande spoke around 3:30 a.m. local time, vowing to extend the nation’s state of emergency an additional three months just hours after announcing it would soon be lifted. The emergency status had been in place since a terrorist siege in Paris on Nov. 13 killed 130 people killed in a wave of coordinated attacks across several locations over the course of one night.
Major Terrorist Attacks in 2016 (Photos)
Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Nice have made the biggest headlines around the globe, but there have been more than 100 more terrorist attacks this year. These are some of the deadliest ones that have happened so far. Be advised: This gallery contains violent imagery.
January 3 -- ISIS suicide bombers attack Camp Speicher, a former U.S. base now used by the Iraqi Air Force, killing 15.
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January 7 -- A car bomb at a Libyan police camp in the town of Zilten kills 60 people and wounds 200 more.
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January 11 -- Bombs in three cities in Iraq, including Baghdad, kill over 130 people.
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January 16 -- ISIS forces attack the Syrian town of Deir ez-Zor, killing Syrian army members as well as women and children. Death toll estimates range between 130 and 300 people.
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February 1 -- A suicide bomber detonates a vest outside Afghanistan's national police headquarters in Kabul, killing 20 and injuring 29.
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February 8 -- ISIS executes approximately 300 activists, police, and military personnel in Mosul, Iraq.
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February 21 -- ISIS detonates car bombs in two Syrian towns heavily populated with Shi'ite Muslims, killing between 140 and 270 people, and wounding over 300 more.
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February 17; March 13 -- 67 people are killed in two car bombings in Ankara, Turkey that occur within a month of each other.
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March 22 -- Three suicide bombers armed with nail bombs performed coordinated attacks in Brussels, Belgium. Thirty-two people are killed, with the nail bombs wounding 340 more.
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March 27 -- Seventy-two people, including 29 children, are killed in a suicide bombing at the largest public park in Lahore, Pakistan.
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June 12 -- A gunman opens fire on a nightclub popular with the LGBT community in Orlando, killing 49 and wounding 53 before being shot down by law enforcement officials. The attack is the deadliest in the United States since 9/11.
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June 28 -- A trio of suicide bombings at an airport in Istanbul kill 45 and injure 200 more. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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July 3 -- Several bombings in Baghdad kill over 300 and wound 225. The attacks are the deadliest in Iraq since 2007.
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July 7 -- A sniper kills five police officers who are escorting a protest against police brutality in Dallas. The shooting came in the same week that two African-American men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed during encounters with police officers.
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July 14: At least 77 people are killed in Nice, France, after a truck drives through a crowd on Bastille Day.
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Major attacks in 2016 have taken place in Brussels, Nice, Syria, and Orlando
Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Nice have made the biggest headlines around the globe, but there have been more than 100 more terrorist attacks this year. These are some of the deadliest ones that have happened so far. Be advised: This gallery contains violent imagery.