Nice terrorist reportedly had criminal record but was not known to be radicalized

Truck used in Nice terrorist attack.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The driver of a truck that mowed through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 84 people, was a 31-year-old French-Tunisian with a criminal record, and was well-known to police, local French media reports. Police told Nice-Matin that ID papers and a phone found in the truck suggest the man was named Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel.

Bouhlel worked as a delivery driver in Nice, and was well-known to police due to a history of petty crime. He was found guilty of "violent contact" in March. However, he was not known to be radicalized, and did not have an anti-terrorism file, The Independent reports. Still, the attack appeared premeditated — Bouhlel rented the truck used in the Thursday attacks on Wednesday, a local paper citing a police source said.

Bouhlel was born in Tunisia and lived in Nice as a French passport holder, and was a father of a 3-year-old, according to reports. "An operation is currently underway at the dead suspect's home in Nice. It is being raided by officers," The Telegraph reports an investigating source as saying.

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"He lived alone. He said very little to anyone and wasn't very polite. He wouldn't hold the door open for you," one of Bouhlel's neighbors told The Telegraph. She described him as seeming "very weird."

The driver died in the truck in a shoot-out with police, ending his massacre.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.