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Nice Terror Attack: Facebook Post Reunites Mother And Child, ISIS Claims Responsibility

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 21:58 PST, Jul 15, 2016

In the midst of the brutal Nice terror attack, a French mother was separated from her baby boy. Thanks to a post on Facebook, the missing baby was found and reunited with his mother. Meanwhile the Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

While Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, 31, drove his truck through the crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, mayhem ensued. At least 84 people were killed, including 10 children, as Bouhlel carried out his brutal and senseless attack. As the large refrigerated truck zigzagged its way down the beachfront boulevard, crushing dozens of people along the way, families and friends were separated.

One witness on the scene told the Nice television stations, “What I saw was horrible. Women’s bodies crushed, blood everywhere, there was no one to help, so I turned back.”

Another eyewitness said, “White truck literally racing through crowds of all ages. People either caught in path or forced to jump onto rocks over beach barrier.”

According to a report by the Guardian, among the victims affected by the Nice terror attack, one mother who lost her baby boy and her three friends, Yohlaine Ramasitera, Rebecca Boulanger and Tiava Banner, immediately took to Facebook in an effort to track down the missing eight-month-old child.

Late on Thursday, they made several frantic posts on Facebook, including a photo of the baby boy. One particular post was very quickly shared over 22,000 times.

The post by Banner read: “We lost baby, 8 months.”

“Nice friends, if you’ve seen him, if you were there, if you have collected, please contact me.”

In Boulanger’s Facebook post, she wrote: “VERY IMPORTANT: in the rush of things with shots being fired some friends of our friends lost their baby boy!!!”

It turns out the baby boy was still in his blue stroller on the street after the Bastille Day truck attack. While Boulanger was scouring the social network, desperately looking for news, she read a post that said the boy had been found two hours after the Nice terror attack by an unidentified woman.

Boulanger, who is a pastor and resident of Nice, wrote on Facebook: “A lady brought the baby boy to safety, they are on their way to pick him up now.”

“Thank you Lord!! with such a horrible night it is such a miracle that through all the sharing on Facebook he was found.”

Boulanger went on to thank Facebook and its members for all their help and messages of support. Reportedly, other members of the baby’s family are currently hospitalized.

Since the attack, a clearer picture is emerging of the man who plotted and carried out the brutal and devastating attack during the Bastille Day celebrations. Bouhlel was a 31-year-old resident of the city, born in Tunisia. He was a divorced father of three children and was known to be a petty criminal, who worked as a delivery driver.

According to a report by the New York Times, Bouhlel wasn’t on the radar of French intelligence services before the attack. That report described him as a troubled, angry loner with little interest in Islam, who was well known for drinking and womanizing.

Reportedly, after the driver was shot dead, authorities found Bouhlel’s driver’s license, other paperwork and cell phone in the truck. Also in the truck was a handgun and several fake weapons.

In a news conference on Friday, hours after the attack, it was confirmed that 84 people were killed, including women and children, and 202 were wounded. According to prosecutors, they had so far found no links to the Islamic State extremist group in connection with the Nice terror attack.

However, while at first there were no links to ISIS, a statement has been released this morning that the Islamic State terror group has taken responsibility.

ABC today quotes a report by the Aamaq news agency on Saturday, citing a “security source” as saying the attacker (who they did not directly name) “carried out the operation in response to calls to target the citizens of coalition countries fighting the Islamic State.” Reportedly, the terror group described the attacker as a “soldier” of the organization.

Five people have been detained by French authorities for questioning regarding the attack including Bouhlel’s ex-wife. The other four are reportedly friends or acquaintances of Bouhlel.

Meanwhile, dozens of other people are appealing through social media in an attempt to find missing loved ones, with many of the missing being children and teenagers affected by the terror attack in Nice.

[Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images News]

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