Survivor describes horrific scenes where police were forced to pull guns on crowds as they punched officers in panic
Cops were forced to pull guns on panicked crowds who were punching officers among the bodies of dead children in the chaotic aftermath of the Nice terror attack, a witness told The Sun Online.
Tiffany Marchbanks watched in horror from a balcony as the Bastille Day massacre unfolded before her eyes.
The attack saw a truck speed through the Promenade des Anglais, killing at least 84 people as it ploughed through crowds "like a bowling ball" while the driver screamed "Allahu Akbar".
The American student, who is living in Nice, was watching the fireworks from a third-floor hotel terrace when the carnage began.
She told The Sun Online: 'The driver stopped about three metres away, about the same time the band starting playing on a stage along the promenade.
"There was a weird silence and then gun fire started. Then there were few more shots and the worst screaming I've ever heard in my life.
"There were kids and a baby, all dead, blood everywhere. The sheets covering bodies weren't white anymore."
She said the group fled to a landing area to escape the hail of gunfire.
From there, they saw cops and dogs outside blocking the streets leading to the promenade.
She added: 'People were trying to get past the cops to their families on the promenade but the cops would't let them pass.
"People started getting violent. They were punching cops, who were sympathetic, but eventually they had to pull guns to get the mass to calm down."
Meanwhile, other terrified witnesses have told their stories of shock and horror as they were left cowering in fear.
A dad known only as Kevin was with his wife and two kids trying to find an ice cream when panic broke out.
He told France TV Info: "I was barely 50m from the scene. I gave my wife and my children in a safe spot with the ice cream vendor and I ran, against all my instincts, to see if I could help.
"I shouldn't have done that. What I saw, it was horrible.
"The bodies of crushed women, covered in blood, there was nothing anyone could do to help and I turned and ran back up the road."
Australian journalist Ben Terry shared a video of a group of terrified people cowering in a restaurant's storeroom, saying he was holed up in the storage room of a restaurant after hearing gunfire.
He tweeted, saying: "seems to be under control in #nice but the mass panic was like I'd never seen".
He later wrote that the streets were emptying in Nice with people running to their homes.
The group can be seen cowering in between fridges and cupboards of food, telling each other to keep quiet as scenes of panic unfolded in the French city.
He said he had been enjoying the fireworks display on the Promenage des Anglais when he saw people start running.
Mr Terry said: "We heard several gunshots, of course we had no idea where they were coming from, but after the Paris attack and what we saw in Brussels recently there was a sensen of tension and we ran with the crowd."
He said a group managed to run into a restaurant, huddling into the storeroom together.
He said: "Several of them were crying, some were trying to call their family and more and more people were running in."
Families desperate to hear news of their loved ones have now taken to social media, begging for news.
A Nice-Matin journalist Damien Allemand said the truck passed just metres from him, with him not realising what was happening.
"I saw bodies in the truck's path flying like bowling pins. I heard the sound - it's something I will never forget. I was paralysed. I couldn't budge.
"I followed the truck with my eyes. Beside me, there was panic. The people were running, screaming, crying."
One witness, Chloe, told local media that she had an enormous explosion and ran for her life.
She said: "We re-entered a tapas bar on rue Longchamp and we hid in the toilets for half an hour.
"Then, we exited and again we saw some people running and saying 'truck, truck', so everyone hid in the toilets again, this time for an hour.
"The manager helped us leave through the backdoor and I ran home."
One woman told French radio that she saw the lorry come speeding down the road.
She said: "The lorry came zig-zagging along the street. We rain into a hotel and hid in the toilets with lots of people."
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The driver of the truck is dead with reports that he got out of the vehicle and started shooting before he was neutralised.
Photos have now emerged what appeared to be the bullet-riddled windscreen of the abandoned lorry in the middle of the road.
Officials have no confirmed that the vehicle was found full of firearms and grenades.
President of the United States Barack Obama has come out to condemn the attacks.
He said: "On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loves ones of those killed, and we wish a full recovery for the many wounded."
He said he already already offered assistance to France, saying: "On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world."
