Truck attack in France

[Arsenic]

A truck drove through reportedly 2-3 miles of civilians celebrating national holiday.

So far 73 dead, I did not get the injure count.

Pictures are popping up with a white semi with the windshield coverd with bullet holes supposedly from police. The driver is said to be dead.

My 15 is almost over so I will professionalise this later.

 

[EC]

Poor France. Can't catch a break lately. Seems like 1-2 attacks per year for them.

 

[Hikamaru]

Seriously, France has been suffering badly as of recent times. It was near the end of last year that Paris suffered a devastating terrorist attack and now the national holiday has been soured by what could be another possible terrorist attack.

It hasn't even been one year since the Paris attacks so I can imagine all the traumatic experiences French people have been suffering, with this latest incident not helping the trauma at all. Hopefully we'll find out more about what happened and if terrorism was involved or not.

 

[Her]

Second time in a relatively recent time period I've had to frantically phone family members living in the attack zone and verify their wellbeing. First time, we had to check if my Parisian relatives were okay due to the Paris attacks. This time my aunt and her family in Nice. Particularly stressful this time considering they were too shocked by the experience to pick up their phone or check Facebook for the first hour afterwards. So it has not been a pleasant day for my family, let alone those who were actually injured/killed and the effect that must be having on their loved ones. Absolutely horrific. God, the knowledge that Marine Le Pen will use this to her advantage sickens me.

 

[Hikamaru]

The death toll from the attack has now risen to 84, and according to French President Francois Hollande there are children among the dead. Around 20 people were injured, some of which were foreigners.

President Hollande also said that a state of emergency due to end on the 26th has been extended by another three months.

 

[blue]

Another devastating time for France. I was watching this story as it progressed last night and unfortunately the death toll is much higher than I'd anticipated.

 

[Sir Codin]

It seems like terrorist attacks in the EU are becoming as common as shootings in the United States.

 

[Hikamaru]

The dead truck driver was a 31-year-old French-Tunisian dual citizen, several reports say.

 

[Sir Codin]

So....a country that is not only primarily Muslim, but is also a country that was once conquered by France.

Icky combination.

 

[Cersei Lannister]

I am so fucking devastated by this. This is just absolutely mindboggling now... sigh I cried legit for an hour yesterday :/

 

[Luck]

What an awful tragedy. The real victims in this attack are the true Muslims that are going to be discriminated against by right wing nutcases.

 

[Dracowyn]

I'd say the real victims are the people who were killed and injured by this attack and their loved ones.

It's absolutely awful what happened. And I find it increasingly hard not to judge not only the Islam, but religion as a whole after each terrorist attack.

My thoughts are with the victims of this horrible and cowardly attack as well as with their loved ones and the entire French nation.

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

France does the impossible, it manages to have a less competent security system than Romania.

 

[Biogoji]

Yes true Muslims are going to get discrimination thrown at them, does that make them the victim in all of this no it doesn't. The victims in this are the people who were in the crowd when this act of terror was carried out and the relatives of those who were killed or injured in this attack. Now if sympathising with those people instead of Muslims makes me a racist bigot then so be it.

That Rant aside, It's a tragedy that turning the news to see a terrorist attack like this is becoming the norm especially for people growing up in these times. That being said action does need to be taken but the million dollar question in that case is what action is required to snuff out this problem.

Also i wouldn't be surprised if they carried out some airstrikes like they did after the attacks in November.

 

[Nihilego]

Something about this terrifies me more than any other terror attack I can remember from the past few years. There were no planes, explosives or guns (not until the end anyway - I know the truck was ladened with them but they didn't get used, thankfully) involved. Just a truck - I don't know if it was rented or stolen, but certainly it's possible to rent - and a presumably perfectly legal driving license. 80+ dead from just that. I can't get my head around the simplicity of it all. Terrorism has never made me feel genuinely vulnerable before, but this is completely something else. Anybody could do this.

What an awful tragedy. The real victims in this attack are the true Muslims that are going to be discriminated against by right wing nutcases.

No, they aren't. The victims are the innocent people who were murdered whilst celebrating their national holiday by some sick extremist. I don't know how you can possibly claim that those people aren't "real" victims of this atrocity.

 

[Lapis]

Ugh I heard about this earlier. This is absolutely awful especially so soon after the Paris attacks. My thoughts are with them. :/

 

[Esper]

Apparently the attacker was on nobody's watch lists ever. Only had a record for minor crimes.

Something about this terrifies me more than any other terror attack I can remember from the past few years. There were no planes, explosives or guns (not until the end anyway - I know the truck was ladened with them but they didn't get used, thankfully) involved. Just a truck - I don't know if it was rented or stolen, but certainly it's possible to rent - and a presumably perfectly legal driving license. 80+ dead from just that. I can't get my head around the simplicity of it all. Terrorism has never made me feel genuinely vulnerable before, but this is completely something else. Anybody could do this.

This has always been a fear of mine - a car driving off into the middle of the crowd. It's happened before, with people who were drunk or whatever, and that's terrifying enough, but now this shows how easily a sadistic extremist can kill people.

If there's anything good to take away from this I hope it's that you can't win this battle with guns and police and soldiers. Anyone can get into a car and kill people and you won't be able to do anything about it until they've already attacked. The only way to win is to make people not want to attack in the first place. Education, compassion, support, understanding. Make people feel like their lives are worthwhile. Fight the awful rhetoric of the terrorists and extremists with your words, but back them up with actions. And not action as in violence, but peace and tolerance. Don't discriminate and fall victim to racism and xenophobia. Those only add fuel to the fire.

 

[Sir Codin]

If there's anything good to take away from this I hope it's that you can't win this battle with guns and police and soldiers. Anyone can get into a car and kill people and you won't be able to do anything about it until they've already attacked. The only way to win is to make people not want to attack in the first place. Education, compassion, support, understanding. Make people feel like their lives are worthwhile. Fight the awful rhetoric of the terrorists and extremists with your words, but back them up with actions. And not action as in violence, but peace and tolerance. Don't discriminate and fall victim to racism and xenophobia. Those only add fuel to the fire.

Sorry to tell you, Esp, but it looks like France didn't get your memo:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30774114

 

[Cariad]

so heartbreaking... i'm so sorry to the families of those affected & those who will now have to deal with the inevitable aftermath; may the victims rest easy. one day the world will be able to wake up without wondering what attack is next... i guess today just wasn't that day.

 

[Shamol]

Some more news on the killer:

From Telegraph:

"They said that he had been unhappy since he divorced his wife two years ago, and that he suffered from financial problems.

Those who lived near him said he had been "depressed and unstable, even aggressive" of late. They put this down to his "marital and financial problems"."

"One told BFM TV he was "more into women than religion".

"He (didn't) pray and like(d) girls and Salsa," according to BFM's crime correspondent."

Residents of Msaken, the town 75 miles south of Tunis where Bouhlel lived until 2005, said he was disinterested in religion.

From Daily Mail:

Walid Hamou, a cousin of Bouhlel's wife Hajer Khalfallah , told MailOnline: 'Bouhlel was not religious. He did not go to the mosque, he did not pray, he did not observe Ramadan.'He drank alcohol, ate pork and took drugs. This is all forbidden under Islam.

'He was not a Muslim, he was a s***.

'He beat his wife, my cousin, he was a nasty piece of work.'

This is becoming a pattern. Terrorists who aren't really muslims in any significant sense of the word, and yet muslim enough to make the rest of us look bad.

As someone who's been part of a Muslim community all my life, I firmly believe Muslims- to a significant extent- hold the key to solve the problems of radicalization. Of course, there are broader geopolitical factors at play here, and those need to be talked about more. But when it comes to preventing the radicalization of our young, education and counseling by the Muslim community can play the more effective role. The only voices potential radicals would be at least a little inclined to hear are those emanating from their own communities, people that they identify with at some levels. In the past three significant terrorist attacks- the Orlando shooting, the Dhaka attack, and now the truck attack at Nice- none of the assailants were in close association with the broader religious community. This speaks to the responsibility of the Muslim community to reach out to these elements in their midst and provide education and company.