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A truck plowed into pedestrians during Bastille Day celebrations in the popular French seaside city of Nice Thursday, leaving at least 75 people dead, officials said.
The deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes department where Nice is located, Eric Ciotti, told French broadcaster BFM-TV early Friday that 75 people were confirmed dead. Former Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said 77 were dead.
A spokesperson for France’s Interior Ministry said on Twitter: “The individual who was driving the truck was neutralized. Investigation will determine if he was acting alone.” Police urged residents to stay in their homes.
The truck struck the crowd at around 10:40 p.m. local time (4:40 p.m. ET) shortly after a fireworks display, officials and witnesses said.
Estrosi, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region that includes Nice, told French media that the driver also shot at people and was fatally shot by police. A senior U.S. military official told NBC News that guns and explosives were found in the truck.
“White truck literally racing through crowds of all ages. People either caught in path or forced to jump onto rocks over beach barrier,” witness Andrew Botros, an Edinburgh man who owns a holiday apartment in Nice, told NBC News in a Twitter message. “Some dead. Horrific,” Botros said.
A senior U.S. military source told NBC News that French authorities are reporting that the truck “purposefully” and “maliciously” struck the crowd.
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