Dozens of children among victims of Nice truck attack

When this reporter was covering news at the scene on Saturday local time in Nice, a three-year-old boy came to me and gave a small lit candle. The boy's mother kneeled down at his side, crying with a candle in her hands. After drying her tears, she held her little son tight and told the reporter, "Children of my son's age were killed. This is not just someone else's tragedy but all of us. I came here with my child to remember what happened."

Parades have been held to commemorate 84 people killed by the terrorist who drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd on Thursday night. Citizens have made alters for the victims along the famed Promenade des Anglais, lightening the street all night long. People were standing in lines to buy flowers early even on Saturday morning.

On the alter, there were a lot of dolls, such as bears, pandas and monkeys. People offered those dolls for dozens of children victims. Yannis Coviaux, the youngest among the deceased, was only four years old. His family and neighbors came to the beach on the day of the attack. "Yannis was away from me at that time. He was with his friends. When the truck was coming towards me, I pushed my wife aside by instinct andto avoid the truck by a second. When I got up and looked for Janice, he was lying in a blood puddle. I should not have let go of his hand...," said his father Michael Coviaux. "It feels like my heart has been cut out." Reportedly, 30 injured children are being treated at Nice's Lenval children's hospital.

The French government suspects that Mohamed Bouhlel, the terrorist who was shot dead by French police officers, was motivated by Islamic extremism. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stated on Saturday, "We think that the offender became radicalized very quickly. We are now dealing with individuals who receive instructions from the IS. They can commit terror attacks without even training or a weapon of mass destruction." IS spokesperson Muhammad al-Adnani made a radio incitement in 2014, "If you do not have a bomb or a gun, use a car to attack." An IS-affiliated media also reported, "This operation was requested by the IS to target civilians of the Crusader Alliance that attacks Muslims." Five men and two women including an ex-wife of the terrorist have been arrested for being involved in the terror attack.

However, the motivation of the attack is still not clearly disclosed. The criminal's father remarked, "My son was very violent, screaming and breaking things. He took medicines for depression. In the middle of Ramadan, he never prayed and drank instead of fasting."

In the meanwhile, Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the safety of all 62 Korean citizens who could not be reached on the day of the attack in Nice, saying, "Everyone is safe and sound."