At least three people and several others were wounded after an attacker with a knife at a church located in the French city of Nice, Thursday.
According to Nice's Mayor Christian Estrosi, who dubbed the attack as "terrorism," the attacker has already been detained by the police after he got shot.
Estrosi also tweeted a statement saying that he could confirm that what happened in the Notre-Dame Basilica in central Nice has the characteristics pointing to a terror attack, Aljazeera reported.
Moreover, Estrosi stated that one man and two women died due to the attack. He said that one of the women hid in a nearby bar to seek refuge; however, she ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
Meanwhile, Estrosi described the other woman's death as "horrible," stating that she died "like the professor." The description was seen to be a reference to the death of Samuel Paty, a French teacher who was beheaded.
Read also: France Shuts Down Mosque After Death of a Teacher Who Showed Caricatures of Prophet Muhammad
Later on, a separate development claimed that a suspect was killed amid an encounter with the police in Avignon City, France. The suspect reportedly threatened civilians with a handgun.
According to CNBC, reports also stated that French President Emmanuel Macron was already heading to Nice. Meanwhile, a crisis meeting was called by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to warn people to avoid the site of the attack.
The French Council also condemned the attack for Muslim Faith, who called all Muslims who reside in France to cancel all the celebration of the Muslim holiday Mawlid in solidarity with the victims and their families.
Mawlid is the holiday that celebrates the birth of Prophet Mohammad.
In light of the incident, officials across all the political spectrums in France offered their sympathies, Yahoo! News reported.
France Insoumise party leader Jean-Luc Melenchun took it to Twitter to express his compassion for the Nice attack victims and families.
The left-wing mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, also expressed her sympathy and the support of the city of Paris to Mayor Estrosi and the city of Nice.
While other politicians expressed their sympathy, leading far-right figure, Marine Le Pen, called for the complete eradication of Islamism and their faith from the French soil.
On the other hand, the prosecutor's office in anti-terrorism stated that an investigation on an attack that has a possible terrorist connection has already been opened.
The parliament's lower house has also suspended a debate on new restrictions that will be imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country is set to go into a fresh lockdown by Friday. The house also offered a moment of silence for the victims of the attack.
The attack follows the controversial killing of Paty by a Chechen man after the teacher showed his pupils a caricature of the Prophet Mohammad. This act is considered blasphemous to the Islamic faith.
The Kremlin has also released its comments on the recent beheading and stated that while it was unacceptable to kill, it is also wrong to insult others' religious beliefs.
At the moment, there is still no information if the Nice attack indeed had a connection to the cartoons and Paty's beheading.
Related article: Pakistan PM Slams French President for Alleged Attack on Islam
