As thousands gathered together to celebrate Bastille Day on July 15, tragedy struck France again when a terror attack killed 84 people—including 10 children and teenagers— and wounded 202 others. 52 people remain in critical condition and 25 others on life support, according to the guardian.com. Two Americans were among the dead, and three more were injured.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, and stated that the assailant, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was “a soldier in the fight against crusader states,” as mentioned on The New York Times.
This is the third major terrorist attack to hit France in just 19 months.
Griffin Dudley, president of Pi Delta Phi and the French Honor Society here at FIU, shared her initial reaction when first hearing about this incident.
“I think this time, it was shock, almost a numbness that it can’t be real, especially since it was France’s Independence Day. Our advisor for both Pi Delta Phi, the French Honor Society, and Le Cercle Francais, our French club for general members, is in Paris right now, in the province region,” she said. “And the first thing you do is email her like: ‘What is going on, is everything okay?’ We have former officers who are living in France right now, and that’s the first thing you do, it you contact everyone you know.”
Bouhlel drove a rented 20-ton refrigeration truck down the waterfront of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France around 10:45 p.m. going 1.1 miles eastward, according to The New York Times. Reports say that “Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove through the seafront promenade area of the French city on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation,” as stated on BBC.com.
He exchanged gunfire with three police officers during his rampage before he was killed, as stated on The Guardian. In the truck, police found that the cargo hold contained a bicycle and eight empty pallets, or stacking platforms. In the cab, police found an automatic 7.65-millimeter pistol, two fake assault rifles, a nonfunctioning grenade, a cellphone and unspecified documents, according to The New York Times.
CNN mentioned that Bouhlel’s father said “his son showed signs of mental health issues—having multiple nervous breakdowns and exhibiting volatile behavior.” Although authorities have yet to find any evidence that link Bouhlel to the militant group, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazdneuve said Lahouaieji-Bouhlel seemed to have been “radicalized very quickly,” as stated on BBC.com.
Just hours before the attack occurred, French President Francois Hollande announced that the state of emergency would be lifted. Deputy mayor of Nice, Rudy Salles, said that “there was a kind of sentiment of lightness,” as mentioned on Time.com.
Those sentiments quickly faded when the attacked occurred, and President Hollande declared that he would extend France’s state of emergency until January 2017. He also called on “patriotic French” to volunteer in the civilian military reserve, according to Time.com.
Maria Antonieta Garcia, an advisor for Pi Delta Phi, and Le Cercle Francais at FIU, expressed her sentiments on why France continues to be a target for terrorism, and how this violence could be stopped.
“ISIS instructed its followers to hit the US and specifically France for what these countries represent in the world: freedom. The government has to be more aggressive in dealing with this threat and each person has to be vigilant,” Garcia said. “I think people will feel safe when they see more security measures being taken. Right now, the state of alert has been extended until January 2017, this means more police forces on the streets, more security initiatives and a larger budget allocated for security.”
According to reuters.com: “Two more people, a man and a woman close to Bouhlel, were arrested in Nice early on Sunday and another person in the afternoon. Four others arrested previously were still being held, but Bouhlel’s estranged wife was released without charge after being held since Friday.”
It is unknown why he initiated this attack because Bouhlel was seemingly unknown to French counterterrorism agencies, and there were no links found to terror groups or evidence of radicalization. However, police are still investigating to see whether he acted alone or had an accomplice.
About Post Author
