'It Was Horrendous': France Reels as Bastille Day Attack Leaves 84 Dead
Europe has been hit again by terrorism -- this time at a popular tourist city in the south of France. Dozens of people were killed Thursday night when a truck barreled through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice.
*Do France and other Western nations, including the U.S., have the will to do what it takes to defeat Islamic terrorism? CBN's Dale Hurd tackled that issue and more on The 700 Club. Click play to watch.
Revelers had just finished watching fireworks celebrating La Fete National, French National Day, when the attack took place.
Thousands were walking along a popular seaside promenade before panic ensued as the driver of a white box truck began plowing into people--mowing down and shooting at them for a mile-and-a half.
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"It was a quite a harrowing scene to be honest. I seen one guy actually running, sobbing, crying. We seen people holding babies, screaming, shouting, mothers running for cover -- it was horrendous," witness Andy Shaw recalled.
At least 84 people were killed, including two Americans: Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son Brodie of Lakeway, Texas .
Kelly Repan of Florida witnessed the attack.
"We didn't have any idea what we were running from...we just booked it. I grabbed my fiancé and we started running. We're not locals so we really didn't know where we were going," she said.
Watch CBN News special report with Mark Martin as news broke of the Nice, France terror attack.
Eileen White, a tourist from Glasgow, Scotland, said security was good before the attack.
"The promenaded had been closed off. So I suppose the big question is how did the truck get on the promenade in the first place?" she asked.
Police opened fire and finally stopped the lone terrorist. They found guns and grenades inside the truck.
So far, no terrorist group has claimed credit for the attack. Police identified the attacker as a 31-year-old French national of Tunisian descent. He was known to police as a common criminal, but was not on terrorist watch lists.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said his nation is in a war with terrorists, and French President Francois Hollande promised to reinforce French actions in Iraq and Syria.
"We will continue to hit precisely those who attack us on our own soil in their own area," Hollande said.
President Barack Obama condemned the attack, adding that America's thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.
"We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally," he said.
French police are investigating to determine if the terrorist had accomplices or acted alone.
Meanwhile, Hollande has extended a state of emergency for another three months and the Belgian prime minister is increasing security measures in his country in advance of national celebrations next week.
Brussels was hit by Islamic terror at its airport and metro last March. The Nice attack was the second for France in eight months -- 130 people were killed in a series of attacks in Paris last November.
France is now in three days of mourning.
About The Author
Mr. Lane served as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he provided written stories and served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs.
Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced reports from Beirut on the Lebanese civil war. He was reassigned to Washington, D.C., at the start of President Reagan’s second term and served as National Security Correspondent from the U.S. State Department, Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the White House.
Gary left CBN briefly in 1988 to work as Senior Press Secretary for Pat Robertson’s presidential campaign. Afterward, he returned to Washington and served as Washington Bureau Chief for CBN News from 1989-1992.
Gary transferred to CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach in 1996, where he began more extensive international traveling and reporting as a Senior Correspondent.
In addition to his extensive reporting on Christian persecution, Gary is also known for his reporting on the civil war in Sudan. He made 20 trips to the country since 1993 and also testified before Congress about the plight of Burmese refugees.
Gary produced numerous documentaries, including Americans Abandoned for the American Defense Institute, which afforded him the opportunity to become the first American journalist granted access to the Vietnamese Defense and Cultural Film archives. The investigative film about American POWs featured Vietnam War footage never seen before by Americans.
Gary also produced several persecution documentaries, including one about Christians in Egypt for Freedom House—Their Blood Cries Out—and another about attacks in Indonesia for The Voice of the Martyrs—Island Jihad. He also worked as a production consultant and videographer for the VOM video specials Underground Reality Vietnam and Underground Reality Colombia.
Over the years, Gary covered wars in Lebanon, Israel, Nicaragua, Angola, Burma, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Colombia, Libya, and Syria. He won several awards, including one from the National Gulf War Resource Center for his groundbreaking investigative reporting of Gulf War Illness, an affliction affecting veterans of Operation Desert Storm. The Australian Evangelical Press Association gave him an award for his reporting of a church massacre that occurred in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, shortly after 9-11.
Gary left CBN in 2000 to join the Voice of The Martyrs as their News Director, where he directed the mission’s multimedia efforts. Those included the website, monthly newsletter, video productions, publications, press releases, and media interviews.
Gary rejoined CBN in late 2003 as International News Director/Senior Correspondent. He served as executive producer of three weekly international news programs: Christian World News (CWN); Mundo Cristiano, a Spanish version of CWN produced in Costa Rica; and an Arabic language version of CWN, CWN Arabic, which was broadcast throughout North Africa and the Middle East. He also hosted and produced the weekly CBN News Channel program, The Global Lane.
Prior to CBN, Gary worked for various local television stations in Michigan, including one owned by Time Inc. and another by Knight-Ridder. Before that, he worked at local radio stations in Flint and Detroit.
Gary is a 1979 honors graduate of The University of Michigan, Flint, where he served as political editor of The University News, studied pre-law, and received an A.B. in political science and history.
