Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel named truck killer by local media in Nice

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

July 15, 2016 at 12:57

The driver of the truck that killed at least 84 people in a terror attack in Nice has been formally identified, according to reports, most notably the BBC.

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, 31, was identified by newspaper Nice-Matin which cited local sources.

He was a dual Tunisian-French national who lived in Nice.

Paperwork reveals ID of suspect Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Picture: Al-JazeeraSource:Supplied

Police had previously said that they had formally identified the man, after finding ID cards in the truck he used to kill 84 people, during Nice’s Bastille Day celebrations.

French President Francois Hollande says that about 50 people are still “between life and death” and in a critical state, including many children, after the attack.

Hollande, "We have an enemy who will carry on striking against all people, all countries that cherish freedom." https://t.co/LwKfkGsYGM
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 15, 2016

The 31-year-old truck driver was shot dead by police.

WARNING: Video below is distressing

Video has emerged of French police shooting the driver of a truck in #Nice who had killed at least 84 people https://t.co/A4lKUxwxb0
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 15, 2016

According to Nice-Matin, sources said Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel worked as a delivery driver, and had been a father for three years.

French prosecutor François Molins said that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was known to police and the courts “due to threats, violence and petty theft between 2010 and 2016”.

He was “detained on the 23rd of March on 2016” and sentenced to six months, for a road rage incident. “There was an altercation between him and another driver and he hurled a wooden pallet at the man”.

He had also been detained for “voluntary violence with weapon and that was in January 2016”.
Authorities were “not aware that he had ever shown a sign of radicalisation”.

Investigators are still looking to find whether the man was working with accomplices. They raided his home and Sky News later reported his ex-wife was held for questioning.

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