France truck attack suspect unknown to intelligence services

The suspect drove for more than a mile until police shot and killed him.

French and American law enforcement officials told NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston that they have not yet found any direct connections between the suspect and terrorist groups.

Bouhlel appears to be the lone attacker, though police are searching for potential accomplices.

Neighbors of Bouhlel described him as a “lonely” and ‘silent’ man, with one saying he never returned their greetings. “A person jumped on to the truck to try to stop it”, Ciotti said.

At least 84 people were killed and a further 100 injured when a truck rammed into a crowd during celebrations in Nice, in what has been called in the city’s worst terror attack in history.

Molins said Bouhlel was seen on surveillance video Thursday riding his bike to a rented refrigerated truck that was parked east of Nice.

The 31-year-old – who wreaked terror on the Nice seafront as he turned an evening celebrating Bastille Day into a night of terror in which he murdered 84 innocent people – drank alcohol, ate pork and took drugs, MailOnline said in its exclusive report.

Bouhlel was married and had three children.

According to Sebastien who lived next to him, Bouhlel did not seem overly religious, was often dressed in shorts and sometimes wore work boots.

The report claims he was known to the police, not for radicalisation but for assault with a weapon, robbery and domestic violence.

They also say he stayed to himself and to their knowledge did not pray, one of the obligations of Islam.

An Iranian journalist Maryam Violette who was present on the ground said she saw bodies on the ground with either the Muslim head covering hijab or some clothing of Arabic nature, according to Al Arabiya.

The man was a Nice resident, the AP reported.

#NiceAttack The scumbag’s name was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Is it cause he was?

Police have found no weapons or explosives at the home of the assailant during the searches, iTele reported.

He had also been arrested following a pub brawl on January 27. Other sources said previously he was already known to police for minor criminal offences.