A man wielding a knife killed at least three people, slitting the throat of one of them, and wounding several others in a stabbing spree outside a church in Nice, French police said Thursday, with the country raising its threat level to the highest.
Authorities had initially confirmed two dead in the attack at the Basilica of Notre-Dame but a police source said a third person after seeking refuge in a nearby bar had also succumbed to their wounds.
Bouleversé par les 3 victimes dont 2 décédées a l’intérieur de la Basilique #NotreDame et notamment le gardien si apprécié par les paroissiens. #Nice06 a payé un trop lourd tribu au meme titre que notre pays depuis quelques années. J’appelle à l’unité des Niçois.
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) October 29, 2020
Police managed to detain the attacker around 9am and France's national anti-terror prosecutors confirmed having opened a murder inquiry. The situation "is now under control", a spokeswoman said.
J’ai eu le Président de la République au téléphone qui m’a temoigné ses remerciements a la @pmdenice et à l’ensemble des forces de l’ordre et m’a demandé de transmettre aux Niçois, vers lesquels il se rendra en fin de matinée, tout son soutien. #Nice06
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) October 29, 2020
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi told journalists near the basilica that the assailant kept repeating the same words "even while under medication".
"I can confirm everything lets us think this was a terror attack in the Notre-Dame Basilica", he said on Twitter, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron would be arriving shortly in Nice, just days before French Catholics mark the All Saint's Day holiday on November 1.
