The man who drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France on Thursday has been identified as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. The terrorist attack killed 84 people and injured more than 200, many of them children. Police officers shot and killed Bouhlel on the scene and investigators are now working to get to the bottom of his motivations for the attack and uncovering more details about his life in the process.
Who Was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel?
The 31-year-old man was a French national of Tunisian descent living alone in Nice. He was the father of three children and worked as a delivery driver, according to BFM TV, and was arrested a month ago after falling asleep at the wheel on a job. Neighbors described him as "depressed and unstable," saying he had become increasingly disgruntled due to financial problems and the end of his marriage. He did not seem deeply religious, they said, preferring "girls and salsa."
One neighbor told the Telegraph he "didn't have the appearance of a religious person and was often in shorts." Another called him "rude and a bit weird."
"We would hold the door open for him and he would just blank [us]," she said. "He kept himself to himself but would always rant about his wife. He had marital problems and would tell people in the local cafe. He scared my children though."
History of Non-Extremist Crimes
According to an investigation opened by the the Ministry of Justice, Bouhlel had a criminal record and was known by police for history of armed assault and domestic violence. He previously received a six-month suspended sentence for assaulting someone with a wooden board following a car accident and was placed under judicial review pending a trial. He had not been incarcerated and had no history of extremist activity. Bouhlel did not appear in any terrorist databases, according to Paris prosecutor François Molins.
"He is totally unknown to the intelligence services, both locally and nationally," he said.
Terrorist Ties Unknown
This is the third attack on Paris in recent months, but unlike past attacks, ISIS has yet to claim responsibility. According to Reuters, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said investigators are working to determine whether Bouhlel acted alone. His truck was filled with explosives when he was killed .
"It will also try to find out whether Mohamed Laouaiej Bouhlel had ties to Islamist terrorist organizations," he said. "Although yesterday's attack has not been claimed, this sort of thing fits in perfectly with calls for murder from such terrorist organizations."
France has announced three days of mourning following the attack, and investigations are ongoing.
