Here is an overview of the most horrible ramming incidents that recently shattered Europe.
July 14, 2016: Nice Truck Attack
In this hair-raising ramming attack, a 19-ton cargo truck drove into a crowd of people who were celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. It claimed the ives of 86 people and injured 434.
The attack was executed by a Tunisian resident of France named Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel. He was killed by the police in a subsequent gunfire exchange. A Muslim extremist group, Daesh, claimed responsibility for this terror attack. The French President François Hollande subsequently prolonged the state of emergency (which was already in place after the Paris attacks in November 2015) for another three months.
December 19, 2016: Berlin Truck Attack
On December 19, 2016, a truck intentionally ploughed into a crowd close to a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.
The ramming attack claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 56 others. One of the victims was the truck's original driver, Łukasz Urban, who was found dead in the passenger seat.
June 3, 2017: London Attack
On June 3, a van drove into a crowd walking on London Bridge as well in the Borough Market area. Three men exited the vehicle and started randomly stabbing people.
All three of the attackers were killed by the police who arrived at the scene several minutes later. London police later confirmed that a total of eight people were killed in the London Bridge attack.
August 9, 2017: Paris suburb attack
A black BMW had ploughed into a group of French soldiers in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, with several people sustaining wounds. According to the French police, four people suffered from minor injuries and two individuals were injured more severely.
The injured soldiers belonged to Operation Sentinelle, introduced following the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, in which a staggering 130 people were killed. France has suffered from a series of attacks since then.
READ MORE: Terrorist Attacks in Paris
August 17, 2017: Barcelona Ramming Attack
In broad daylight, 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians on La Rambla tourist hotspot in Barcelona in Spain, killing 13 people and injuring at least 130 others. One of them died 10 days later. Abouyaaqoub fled the scene on foot, then killed another person in an attempt to make his escape in the victim’s car.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia
