Attack in Nice, France: Local Student Studying Abroad OK

Grand Valley State University senior Jennifer Han, who is studying abroad this summer in Nice, France, is OK and didn’t know until after it was over that an explosives-filled truck had plowed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 84.

Han told WXYZ-TV that she and others were walking to her host family’s home when they saw a panicked crowd running from the beach, where they had been watching a fireworks display to celebrate France’s national holiday.

“We asked, ‘What happened?’ ” Han said.

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“A big truck,” someone said, Han told the TV station.

“We started running as fast as we could,” Han said, “we didn’t know what happened.”

The 23-year-old's mother, Julie Kieronski, told WXYZ that it was difficult watching the violence unfold from a television screen in her Southgate home.

“I wanted to be there with her and hold her,” the relieved mother said. “My daughter is my whole world. I live for her, I breathe for her.”

Two Americans, a father and son from Texas, were killed when the truck drove over a sidewalk and plowed through the crowd.

Local government called the event an “attack” and urged people in the area to remain indoor. Social media images and video showed a chaotic scene, as a crowd of people fled the area in a mass panic.
Sebastien Humbert, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes region, told France's BFM TV that the lorry driver had been shot dead.

Nice is a small but notable liberal enclave for the arts and a popular tourist destination on the French Riviera in Southeast France.

— With Marc Torrence and Tony Cantu of Patch.com

Image credit: Mayor Christian Estrosi via Twitter, Estrosi meets with first responders who responded to the Nice attack