Law enforcement sources in Nice confirmed Friday that the July 14 terror attack was cut short by a citizen who jumped into the cab of the semi-truck and fought with the terrorist driving the vehicle.
The semi-driver, 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was distracted and slowed by the citizen, allowing police to position, open fire, and end the attack.
According to the Independent, police say “the murderous two kilometer charge of the lorry might have been even longer if it had not been for the courage of a member of the public.”
Police said “the man had hurled himself into the cab when the 20 tonne truck was held up by an obstruction. He wrestled with the driver, who seized a revolver and fired several shots at the man and at police officers who arrived on the scene. None was hurt. The driver was then shot dead by two officers.”
An eyewitnesses to the heinous attack, Eric Ciotti, told Europe 1 that he saw the man jump onto the vehicle. He said, “A person jumped on to the truck to try to stop it.” He added, “It’s at that moment that the police were able to neutralize this terrorist.”
The identity of the citizen who risked his life to save others has not been released. He was not, apparently, armed.
Separately, another civilian on a motorcycle tried to stop the truck by pulling up alongside it and accosting the driver, according to the UK Guardian. The truck was moving slowly at that point. The motorcyclist was apparently unarmed.
Unfortunately, according to eyewitnesses and video, he was shoved aside, lost his balance and evidently fell under the wheels of the truck. He is reportedly in critical condition at a local hospital.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com