Nice Attacker Plotted for Months, 5 Alleged Accomplices in Custody, Official Says

The man who killed 84 innocent people by driving a truck through a packed crowd at a fireworks display in Nice, France, may have plotted the attack for at least a year and is believed to had the help of at least five other people, a French official said today.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said authorities found "revealing" online searches and photos on the cell phone and laptop belonging to Nice killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel dating back to last year, including photos of the 2015 fireworks display.

Molins said French authorities have five people, one woman and four men, in custody who are facing preliminary terrorism charges for allegedly helping Bouhlel. In a Facebook message from one of the male suspects, he says, "put 2,000 tons of metal in the truck, f--- the brakes, and I'll watch," according to Molins. Surveillance cameras and other photographs link at least two of the men to the truck, Molins said, and one of the men allegedly provided Bouhlel with the firearm he used to shoot at police in the attack.

Bouhlel, a Tunisian living in Nice, was killed by police at the end of his vehicular rampage on July 14. A large, international crowd had gathered at the waterfront in Nice for the fireworks display in honor of Bastille Day, one of France's largest national holidays.