The Truck Attack In Nice

Update: According to the latest reports, at least 84 people were killed in the attack in Nice, France, and over 180 are injured. Of the wounded, François Hollande, the president of France, said on Friday there are 50 victims “in between life and death." After an emergency meeting of French security and defense officials, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: "Terrorism is a threat that weighs heavily upon France and will continue to weigh for a long time. We are facing a war that terrorism has brought to us." Among the victims, who were celebrating the French holiday of Bastille Day, were a number of tourists, including two Americans, Sean Copelend and his 11-year-old son, Brodie. To help victims of the Bastille Day attack, you can contribute to verified fundraisers or donate blood.

Update 2: Early Saturday morning, ISIS released a statement announcing that one of their "soldiers" had carried out the attack. CNN reports that the statement read, in part: "The person who carried out the run over in Nice, France, is one of the Islamic State soldiers and carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of the coalition which is fighting the Islamic State."

Earlier: On Thursday night in the midst of Bastille Day fireworks, a truck plowed into a crowd in Nice, France. At the time of writing, the deputy of Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said at least 70 people were killed in the attack, and Reuters reported that 100 people were hurt. The victims were watching the annual fireworks celebration along the Promenade des Anglais. The driver of the truck was shot dead, according to multiple French officials. Many are now wondering why the truck crashed in Nice.

There are only a few details about the horrific crash itself. Reuters reported that sub-prefect Sebastien Humbert told France Infos radio that the truck was driven at a "high speed for over 100 meters" into the crowd gathered to enjoy the annual fireworks. According to Vox, Le Monde reported that a prosecutor said: "The truck drove through the crowd, crushing people, for 2 kilometers, or about 1.2 miles." It's not clear what was motivating the driver, but he fired into the crowd, according to what Estrosi told the local media. Estrosi also said that "the truck was loaded with arms, loaded with grenades." Following the attack, Nice was placed on lockdown. At the time of writing, French officials were still instructing people to remain indoors.