Scores of people were killed Thursday night in southern France when a large truck barreled through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the city of Nice. The 84 people killed included 10 children watching the fireworks display.
The truck plowed through pedestrians for more than a mile along a seaside road before coming to a stop.
Police said the driver was Mohamed Bouhlel, a 31 year old who lived in Nice. Police killed Bouhlel "after an exchange of gunfire," Eric Ciotti, the ranking politician of the Alpes-Maritime department that includes Nice, told the French network BFMTV, according to the Associated Press.
Damien Allemand, a journalist for Nice Matin, wrote online that "an enormous white truck came along at a crazy speed, turning the wheel to mow down the maximum number of people."
"I saw bodies flying like bowling pins along its route," he said. "Heard noises, cries that I will never forget."
The truck jumped onto a sidewalk and rammed into a crowd in the resort city, wounding more than 200 people, 52 of whom are now in critical condition. An eyewitness at the scene told the AP that after striking the crowd, the driver emerged from the truck and began shooting.
"There was carnage on the road," said Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native who spoke to the AP near the Promenade du Paillon. "Bodies everywhere."
Map by PBS NewsHour
French President Francois Hollande said in a televised address that France had been targeted by "Islamic terrorism."
"We will intensify our airstrikes in Syria and Iraq," he said. "We will continue to strike those who threaten us."
In another televised address Friday, Hollande paid homage to the volunteer helpers, police and intelligence agencies, and emergency services, including doctors who came in to help patients even though they were off-duty. "We have an enemy who is going to continue to strike all the people and all the countries who have freedom as a fundamental value," he said through an interpreter.
He said France has acted as a model of cohesion and strength throughout its recent trials. "We can overcome this evil because we are France as one."
The AP reported that the Paris prosecutor's office had opened a terrorism investigation. French anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters on Friday that the truck driver fired on three officers, and they responded by chasing the truck and killing the driver.
In the cab of the truck, they found an automatic handgun, some ammunition and replicas of assault rifles. A driver's license revealed what they believed to be his identity: Bouhlel, a Tunisian who lived in Nice.
The authorities were investigating whether Bouhlel was working with anyone else.
French Ambassador to the U.S. Gerard Araud said on CNN that Bouhlel's neighbors said he didn't seem religious at all, and that investigators were looking for more information on the suspect's laptop.
In the U.S., President Barack Obama called the attack a "threat to all of us" and said the U.S. would support its long-standing ally. He ordered flags at government facilities, including embassies and consulates abroad, to fly at half-staff.
People gather near a memorial in Nice, France on July 15, a day after a truck ran into a crowd at high speed killing scores on the Promenade des Anglais. Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters
Secretary of State John Kerry offered his condolences and urged Americans in the area to contact their families to let them know of their well-being. Among the dead were two Americans from Texas, identified by a family friend as 51-year-old Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son Brodie, according to the AP.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he was delaying a scheduled Friday news conference where he planned to name his running mate, instead turning to Twitter to announce that his pick was Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
It's still unknown whether the attacks are linked to any organized effort or terrorist group. But Democratic contender for president Hillary Clinton, speaking to CNN by phone Thursday on the subject, said that it's clear "we are at war" with terrorist groups.
Progress in Syria and Iraq thanks to air strikes has created an "urgent desire" in ISIS to inflict terrorist damage elsewhere, she said. "We have got to do a better job fighting them and their ideology online."
This attack comes eight months after assaults in and near Paris killed 130 people.