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One of the three victims of yesterday’s terrorist attack against a Catholic church in Nice was a Brazilian mother whose last words were: “Tell my children that I love them.”
Simone Barreto Silva, 44, had lived in France for 30 years and had three children, the Brazilian consulate in Paris confirmed last night.
The mother was stabbed by the Tunisian migrant Brahim Aoussaoui, who also shot and killed the 54-year-old sexton Vincent Loques as he prepared for mass.
The third victim, described by French authorities as an elderly woman, was killed near the holy water of the church in an attempted beheading.
Simone is said to have staggered to a nearby hamburger joint before dying from her injuries.
According to local media, his last words were for the paramedics who came to the scene and told them: ‘Tell my children that I love them.’
It is not known if she was married or had a partner. Reports in Brazil said that she had three children, however her Facebook profile shows two boys and a girl. Their ages are not known.
Simone Barreto Silva, 44, had lived in France for 30 years and had three children, the Brazilian consulate in Paris confirmed last night.
Simone Barreto Silva is said to have staggered to a nearby hamburger joint before dying from her injuries. According to local media, his last words were for the paramedics who came to the scene and told them: ‘Tell my children that I love them.’
Simone in a photograph on her Facebook page, which shows her with two young children.
People light candles outside the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice after an Islamist terrorist attack
A woman places a candle on a makeshift memorial in front of the French embassy in Berlin.
Three people were killed by a terrorist in the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice at 9 a.m. yesterday.
The world watched in horror yesterday as Aoussaoui, who had arrived in Europe on an immigrant ship last month, launched a senseless attack on the basilica.
He screamed ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘God is greatest’ in Arabic) as he massacred the three Christians they worshiped before the Catholic holy day of All Saints Sunday.
The attacker was shot 14 times by armed police while shouting “God is greatest” in Arabic during the attack and “while he was on medication” as he was taken to hospital, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said.
Aoussaoui arrived in Nice at around 6.30am via the train station, where he quickly changed his clothes, Jean-Francois Ricard told reporters. CCTV showed him arriving at the church at 8.30am and staying there for almost half an hour.
The assailant entered Europe via the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20 and arrived in Paris on October 9. The travel information came from a document on Aoussaoui from the Italian Red Cross, Ricard said.
Vincent Loques, 54, sacristan of the Notre Dame basilica, was brutally murdered
Emmanuel Macron participates in a videoconference on Covid-19 at the Elysee Palace
Forensic agents work at night in front of the Notre Dame basilica in Nice
Forensic officers work at night in a cafe near the Notre Dame basilica in Nice
The first attack took place at 9 a.m. in Nice, before the second attack in Avignon two hours later. Furthermore, a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was stabbed.
Investigators found two unused knives, a Quran and two mobile phones, as well as a bag with some personal effects. It was unknown to the French security services.
The killings led the French government to raise the level of terrorist alert to the highest level of “emergency” throughout the country.
It followed warnings of more terrorist atrocities just days before the church attack, after Al-Qaeda issued a press release calling for ‘jihad’ (holy war) over the Propet Mohammed Charlie Hebdo newspaper cartoons.
Emmanuel Macron announced increased surveillance of churches by France’s Sentinelle military patrols, which will be reinforced to 7,000 soldiers out of 3,000.
Mourners attended vigils to pay tribute to the victims of the triple murder. They lit candles in front of the Notre-Dame basilica and the French embassy in Berlin.
The attack comes amid fury across the Islamic world against President Macron for defending satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and the day Sunni Muslims mark the Prophet’s birthday.
