and sometimes change is very unwelcome. but as we reflect on the past 20 years, we're also looking forward to the future, to the next 20 years. i'm rachel maddow. thank you for watching. >> where should we begin? >> day one. >> that's great. where else? >> it was bare bones, nerve-racking. >> i can't believe it's been 20 years. >> msnbc was such a cutting-edge place when it went on the air. >> wow, favorite msnbc memory? >> she does not have a short memory. i have a short memory. >> thank you so much, reverend. >> thank you. xxxx . in one of the world's most beautiful vacation spots, on one of the most popular holidays -- >> bastille day, it's their fourth of july. >> -- terror. >> we started running. >> we're like sitting ducks. >> france is attacked again.

>> it's thousands of people packed like sardines, mowed down by someone driving a truck. >> investigators right now are going through this guy's background to see if there are any connections. was there anyone directing him at this target on this day. >> among the victims an american father and son. >> it still hasn't really set in. it's a very small world. you don't think it will happen to somebody you know. >> so many lives lost. >> the world is getting dangerous, my friend mpt. >> i'm alive. the people standing next to me are not. so i think i'm okay. >> is this the new normal. >> these attacks are really changing the way that we think. >> people are absolutely adapting the way they live their lives. >> these things can happen. >> you can't live in fear. life goes on. >> the bastille day attack, a "dateline" special.

>> good evening. welcome to "dateline." i'm lester holt in nice. a celebration, a crowd, then chaos. as a ghostly white truck cut a trail of terror and death for more than a mile along this city's famed beachfront boulevard. at least 84 people are dead, including 10 children and teenagers. more than 200 people wounded, with dozens on life support or in critical condition. the driver, a tunisian living legally in france had a criminal record. but so far he doesn't seem to have a link to any terrorist group. dennis murphy has the latest. >> it was the french version of the fourth of july. bastille day. the great summer holiday when families sung and eat and drink and gather for the fireworks show. as thousands did along the beach in nice, evening of rolling thunder on the mediterranean. american businessman eric dratel. >> it was really a fantastic atmosphere. americans can relate to july

4th, of course. that's exactly what it felt like. >> reporter: the fireworks finale about 10:30 turned out to be only the beginning. the crowd was starting to disperse. moms and dads, kids in strollers. >> we were actually just heading back to our apartment. just stopped to enjoy one of the bands that was playing on the promenade. >> reporter: about the same time, a man off the side street had taken the wheel of a great white refrigerated truck that was now lumbering down the promenade, the boulevard that hugs the beach. street traffic had been blocked off for the celebrations. that truck shouldn't have been there. >> then we turned to hear lots of commotion, and shrieking and shouting. and then we saw a truck. >> the driver climbed the sidewalk, finding his first victims to mow down. bystanders aghast at what they had just seen, assumed it was an awful accident. >> we were in shock. we didn't really know what happened. a truck just blew through a

pedestrian walkway. >> and the driver kept moving, clipping barricades, plowing into a crowd that could not get out of his way. terror had arrived in a french resort city not in a hijacked plane or a kor load of armed men, but in the form of an everyday truck rented just for this purpose. bodies being tossed and scattered, dragged under the wheels. adults, teens, children, all the same as targets. >> i see one guy crying, people holding babies screaming, shouting, mothers running for cover. it was horrendous. >> video taken from a balcony overlooking the promenade shows the truck, now a murder weapon, barreling down the boulevard, leaving blood and mayhem in its wake. the driver kept going. his path of destruction ultimately would be more than a mile in length.

eyewitness nadar. >> i suddenly saw the truck coming in front of me, in the street. and just stopped like two meters in front of me. >> panic took hold as everyone seemed to realize they were under siege. it was happening again. a major terrorist attack in france, the third in less than two years. fracturing again an already fragile nation. >> i was frozen in my place. and i just took out my cell phone, and i turned on my video. >> this cell phone video captured the beginning of the end as brave police surrounded the truck and exchanged gunfire with the driver. >> all very close to each other. very, very fast. it was pop, pop, pop, pop. >> melva and her daughter and baby visiting from california were steps away. >> i was terrified. i put my hand on the baby's mouth so she wouldn't scream.

>> as the shots kept coming, another visitor, kayla, from boek a ra tone, florida, didn't know what was happening, but knew she had to get away fast. >> we just booked it. i grabbed my fiance and we started running. you know, we're not local, so we didn't really know where we were going, if we were going towards something. it seemed like everyone was running -- we were running away from something. we were just turning down alleys and looking for somewhere that might be safe. >> witnesses say parents were desperately trying to protect their children. some even throwing them to safety. eric and his wife were on the beach watching terrified people fall around and on them. >> as we were running to this area, which is very short distance from where we were seated, people started literally diving off the promenade onto the beach. there was a corrugated metal roof on top of the restaurant. one guy dove on that, and rolled over and went on my wife.

she's okay. she's got some bruises, but she'll be fine. >> with the shooting stopped, the vehicle idle, the driver slumped dead in the passenger seat, the nice waterfront looked like the war zone it was. the wounded, the dead, the dying. >> you could see bodies and blood everywhere. the bodies were covered, i thought they were in sheets, turns out they were covered in restaurant tablecloths. but it was just absolutely horrifying sight. >> a count of 84 dead, 10 of that number children and teens. another 200-plus have been injured. among those killed, a father and son from the austin, texas, area. sean copeland and his 11-year-old boy brodie. this inscription, nobody deserves this kind of fate. his little league coach -- >> the littlest guy on the team. anything he was on. he was our second baseman. a little firecracker. >> elsewhere on social media,

people asked for help in finding the still unaccounted for. including a missing uc berkeley student nick lesley. at least three other students from the school were injured. by daylight, the murderous truck driver had been identified. 31-year-old mohamed lahouaiej bouhlel. he lived in the area, and has an estranged wife and children. nbc news' bill neely. >> the driver, mohamed lahouaiej bouhlel, rented the truck three days ago. he picked it up yesterday just a few hours before he got in behind the steering wheel and started to come up this street. >> in a season of international rampages, from orlando, to istanbul, to dallas, it was the beleaguered french president's turn again at the microphone in the middle of the night. francois hollande addressed his nation and a watching world. >> i can assure you that we'll always be stronger than the fanatics who are trying to

attack us. >> today, president obama echoed those thoughts. >> we cannot give in to fear or turn on each other or sacrifice our way of life. we cannot let ourselves be divided by religion, because that's exactly what the terrorists want. >> and the candidates weighed in. hillary clinton calling for greater intelligence gathering. and donald trump saying he would declare war on isis. and while all eyes seemed to be on france, out of the blue came another headline about global turmoil. confused reports about a military coup attempt in turkey. from ankara to the heart of europe, it felt as though the wheels were coming off the known order. beginning with a glorious fireworks show that spun into an atrocity. today, a crime scene more than a mile long, has been blocked off as investigators began what investigators do. the personal items left behind, maybe by the dead, perhaps by the fleeing crowd, speak volumes. so far, no extremist groups have

taken responsibility for the attack. and while it's early in the investigation, the driver appears to have acted alone. >> this is something that was planned out, something that was premeditated well in advance. >> nbc news terrorism analyst said it could be easy for a lone wolf to slip under the radar. >> this was not someone who necessarily would have come up on the radar of counterterrorism investigators. >> today authorities were poring over debris left in the wake of the attack. looking for any and all clues to how and why this horrific act of terrorism happened. retired fbi special agent tim clemente said the authority's next steps are clear. >> investigators in nice right now are going through this guy's background to see if there are any connections. they'll see if anybody directed this. >> this morning the french government extended the state of emergency status by another three months. security was immediately beefed up at all major events, but some

have been canceled. the upcoming nice jazz festival and a rihanna concert scheduled for tonight, gone. the third largest sporting event in the world attracts thousands of spectators. it went on as planned today, along its mountainous route with added security precautions koshding to tour officials. for generations of dreamers and roman ticks, the riviera, the south of france has been a sun-kissed place, but also a state of mind, a way of being. last night, the ugliness of the world we all share now paid a murderous call. >> when we come back, witnesses to terror. how they survived. what they saw. what they'll never forget. "dateline" will be right back. you're here to buy a car. what would help is simply being able to recognize a fair price. truecar has pricing data on every make and model,

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in an attack like this one, the difference between being a victim or a survivor is a matter of inches, seconds, and luck. harry smith now here in nice with the stories of those who witnessed last night's horror, and were lucky enough to survive. >> the south of france has been europe's playground for decades. and bastille day, a sort of fourth of july meets mardi gras. the hannah family of south carolina was outside watching the fireworks. daughter nadine was spellbound.

>> we saw red, white and blue, and nadine was telling me, they're celebrating our fourth of july. i said, no, their flag is red, white and blue as well. >> a small business owner vacationing from new york took these pictures. a couple dancing. as perfect a night as you can imagine. >> i went out to the promenade to actually enjoy nice and its beautiful boardwalk, and ended up staying for the fireworks. the mood was so personal, and just wonderful. lighthearted. >> joyous? >> joyous, yes. >> when did you know something was wrong? >> you know, the difference between something being perfect, delightful and fantastic to completely disastrous was split seconds. i heard something, i turned over and saw the truck. as i'm looking at the truck, i heard screams and gunshots. >> carnage, gunfire, chaos. a festival turned into a test for survival.

jack felice owns this bistro that was packed last night. when did you know something was wrong? >> when people started to show up. people started to leave the table. people from there started to come. it was like a riot. it was a riot. the most dangerous part was the riot. after the lorry, which was very, very bad, the second worst part was after. people pushing trying to go inside. sorry, but it's a dead end. >> a truck, a lorry heading up the promenade des anglais with a demon behind the wheel. >> he was like inside a video game. >> before the restaurant business, jack was a tv sound man, in beirut. in the bad old days. >> this is worse than beirut. i saw that lorry physically

driving over children, women. >> these are pictures jack took with his phone. we've blurred them. he walked, and he walked. on the ground people damaged beyond repair. one person said, the bodies didn't look real. they looked like mannequins. what does it mean to live in france now? seven attacks in the last year and a half. >> the world is getting dangerous, my friend. because listen, it's happening in america. today here, you don't need weapons to kill people. they use a lorry to make mass destruction. i don't think you're feeling secure anywhy in the world. belgium, turkey, america.

>> the hannah family was saved by fate. they headed to a restaurant less than a minute before the truck got to their spot. you came this close to terror. what does it make you think? >> it's hard to get away from this, and that we are very lucky that nothing happened to us. and things can happen in a split second, and you'll be done. and we were really, really lucky. and god was really good to us. we're grateful to be still here. >> inga is struggling to understand just what happened. i mean, it's not even 24 hours later. and to have witnessed something as horrible as this, is there a way to understand it? >> no. i don't think so. this is not part of the human experience, or shouldn't be. >> how are you doing to have seen what you saw last night? >> i'm okay. i'm alive.

and i'm definitely grateful, because right where i was standing, and people that were standing next to me are not. so i think i'm okay. >> every survivor of a terror attack has his or her own story of being an eyewitness to horror. but few have the perspective of a survivor you're about to meet, as he gives us an inside view of what was happening as doctors fought to save every life. all kevin wanted to do this summer is unwind. a seasoned traveler, the 32-year-old native of los angeles thought he could couch surf across europe visiting old friends. last week it was portugal. last night it was nice. >> i saw this tidal wave of people, complete chaos,

commotion, shrieks like i had never heard before. i took off as quickly as i could. >> only after running until his lungs burned did kevin learn that the human stampede was caused by a terrorist truck driver. have you yet come to that point where you think, oh, my god, it could have been me? >> absolutely. i don't know that i completely believed in survivor remorse until today. >> when kevin learned at least ten children and teenagers were killed in the attack and dozens more hospitalized, he decided to put his holiday on hold and see if he could help. you see, kevin is a doctor, a newly minted trauma surge. >> i need to offer my services, so i ended up first going to the children's hospital. >> as it turned out, the hospital didn't need his help, but they invited him in to see what they were up against. >> they had received 15 patients throughout the course of the night. two of them unfortunately died

overnight. three of them are in critical condition. one of them remains unclaimed. meaning that his parents are either dead or still in the hospital. and the remainder just had either minor cuts or bruises, or bad psychological damage. >> what was your sense of how the staff was doing? how they're handling all this? >> they seemed very poised, very composed. everybody seemed a little bit sleep deprived. there were some family members waiting in the lobby who looked a little bit hysterical, but that's to be expected. >> in a few days, the doctor will be leaving france, moving on to his next stop. but he says he leaves fearing that in today's world, no place is ever truly safe. >> i spoke with my parents about that earlier. they said, you need to come back to the u.s. i said the u.s. is no safer than anywhere else. >> i was in dallas two weeks ago. >> there you go. >> the expectation, that these things can happen wherever you go? >> i truly never expected it to

be that close. i feel like had it been any closer, i wouldn't be sitting here right now. but life goes on. you can't live in fear. >> what was behind this latest attack in france, and what do we know about the man behind the wheel of that truck? when we return. can a toothpaste do everything well? this clean was like - pow. it felt like i had just gone to the dentist. my teeth are glowing. they are so white. 6x cleaning*, 6x whiteningá in the certain spots that i get very sensitive... ...i really notice a difference. and at two weeks superior sensitivity relief to sensodyne i actually really like the two steps! step 1 cleans and relieves sensitivity, step 2 whitens.

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the driver was known to be a loner. the question now is, was he a so-called lone wolf. an angry man with a grudge. or was he operating as part of a larger terrorist organization.

here's josh mango wits with the latest on the investigation. >> tonight, french investigators are examining data from the phone and computer of mohamed lahouaiej bouhlel, who was born in tunisia, then became a french resident, and then yesterday a mass murderer. police identified lahouaiej bouhlel from his i.d. in the truck. they raided his home in nice, trying to learn more about a man who apparently never made it on to the french anti-terrorism radar. >> translator: he was totally unknown to the intelligence services, both internationally and locally. >> bouhlel had no terrorist history, but he had did have a criminal rap sheet, that included theft, vandalism and assault on another driver in a road rage incident. he was married, the father of three children.

and he was also separated from his wife in a way that's been described as bitter. investigators are looking at all of that. >> they'll be going through every aspect of his digital life, online, his phone, computers, anything he had that might give them information. >> tim clemente is now retired from the fbi after spending much of his career in counterterrorism. >> who did he meet with, where did he go. >> what phone calls he made. >> absolutely. and thank flgly technology will give us some of the answers to that. they'll be able to recreate some of his activities, but not all. >> but it will not tell you what was going on in his mind. >> no, we'll never know that. >> bouhlel's neighbors describe him as frightening, depressed, unstable, and isolated. but not a radical extremist. >> translator: all i know is that this man has nothing to do with islamist, with al qaeda or the islamic state. >> despite that, many terrorism experts believe bouhlel still

fits the profile of the modern self-radicalized islamic terrorist. terrorism expert, brian jenkins. >> a lot of these young men, street thugs, petty criminals, become radicalized, some in prison, some from charismatic people in the neighborhood. clearly the ideology is a component of their beliefs. the most common attribute is personal crisis. >> like a troubled marriage. add to that, a truck, a few weapons, and the perfect soft target. you don't need much money. >> you're looking at low-rent terrorism. what does it take to rent a truck. he put a credit card down that now he never has to pay the bill. literally there was almost zero up-front costs. >> in fact, bouhlel only had one weapon, the assault rifles and handgun in his truck were fakes. the grenade he carried was

disabled. he had no other explosives. bouhlel's wife was taken into custody and questioned by investigators, who hoped to learn more about her husband. >> she may have known associates he was dealing with, and those are directions you want to go. i don't care if she said he was hanging out with this guy on thursday nights at the bar. that's a person that needs to be interviewed. you never know what the recruitment efforts are, or you never know who the support structure might be. it could be anybody. >> isis? al qaeda? clemente says, if that's what this is, any link with an outside group could be difficult to prove. >> did somebody provide him with the weapons? did somebody provide him with any financial support? was there anyone directing him at this target on this day? >> or was this all sort of his idea? >> that may be the thing. we may never find answers to this. communication could have been done in person. therefore, since he's not surveilled in any way, we would

not know about it. >> bastille day in france is a national holiday and typically a family celebration. and there's some indication the french suspected something like this might be coming. >> days before this attack, the director of the french internal intelligence service made a public warning, which was actually quite grim. he said that they were expecting further terrorist attacks, terrorist attacks that would be more serious than the ones they had seen thus far. >> in fact, the french intelligence services have recently come under fire. just last week, a parliamentary committee set up to investigate last year's terrorist attacks in paris cited widespread failures, and called for a streamlining of a cumbersome system. just as the u.s. did after 9/11. evan coleman is an nbc news terrorism analyst. >> certainly there are measures that france could take to improve its security.

but to suggest that france has worse security, say, than italy, is ridiculous. or even germany. there's been a recognition on the part of the french government. they need all the intelligence and information that they can get. and i think as well there's a recognition of the part of the u.s. government that our security is inherently tied in with french security. >> french investigators say security video shows the truck parked on the street for a day before the attack. bouhlel rode on a bicycle to retrieve it shortly before the attack began. apparently he had just gotten his license for heavy vehicles? was he thinking about this? or is that a coincidence? >> i believe i heard that he had been a truck driver, or he is a truck driver recently employed as a truck driver. he may have gotten the license to get the employment, or maybe got the employment to get experience to do something like this. >> france just finished hosting the european soccer championships. an event that went off without problems, despite, or maybe

because of heavy security. one question now is whether the french let their guard down too soon. >> once they cleared that hurdle, i'm sure there was just an easing of tension. and the president was planning within the next few days of relaxing the state of emergency in france. clearly that's going to continue for months now. so it's unfortunate that the relaxing may have led to, you know, people feeling more comfortable. >> tonight that short-lived calm has been replaced by chaos and fear. but among isis supporters, the attack in nice is being played as very good news. even if there's not an official endorsement from isis, there are certainly pro-isis sites that are celebrating today. >> this is a big victory for them. this is a big target, a western nation that is now grieving again. >> all because of mohamed bouhlel, who prior to this was just a nobody in nice.

but today one of his neighbors quotes him as saying last night something haunting and prophetic. one day, he said, you're going to hear about me. as the number of attacks grows around the world, and at home, what's being done to keep the home front safe? we'll find out when we return. my lenses have a sunset mode. and a partly sunny mode. and an outside to inside mode. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. ask for transitions xtractive lenses. extra protection from light... outdoors, indoors and in the car. what would help is simply being able to recognize a fair price. truecar has pricing data on every make and model, so all you have to do is search for the car you want, there it is. now you're an expert in less than a minute. this is truecar.

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i'm richard lui with your hour's top stories. thousands of mourners gathered for patrick sam a rifa. he was one of five officers fatally wounded last weekend when a gunman opened fire during a rally in downtown dallas. he was married with two children. secretary john kerry says the u.s. will consider an extradition request for a pennsylvania-based cleric in connection with the failed military coup in turkey. the turkish president blames him for the attempt that killed at least 194 people. he denies any involvement in that. now, back to "dateline" nbc. with last night's attack, terrorists and mad murders have added to their ever-expanding arsenal. if every truck driving down a

crowded street is a potential weapon, can we ever predict or prevent the next attack. andrea canning takes a look at the danger on the home front. >> while the motive of the attack in nice is still unknown, it's already having a direct impact on security here at home. >> you're going to see law enforcement when they're doing public events take into consideration the possibility that large-scale vehicles, or even vessels could be used as weapons systems. >> former military counterterrorism and intelligence officer, and msnbc terrorism expert, malcolm nance. >> we already have seen changes. as a matter of fact, we were discussing the republican national convention that's going to be occurring in cleveland this next week. we've seen them shift from, you know, metal barriers to concrete jersey barriers. >> it's a security tactic new york city has used for years. reporting to nypd deputy commissioner john miller. >> we have tons, tons and tons

of concrete, and barriers, and we will lay those in configurations so a vehicle can't get through. but basically, we'll put a ring of concrete around an event if it's going to be heavily attended. >> in 2010, the department of homeland security warned american law enforcement of the possibility of a vehicular attack, like what happened in nice. specifically citing events like street festivals and farmers' markets. >> should people be afraid to go to street fairs, and events that have crowds now in light of what happened? >> if you look at the sheer statistics of it, the likelihood of being caught in a terrorist attack, particularly on u.s. soil, it's extraordinarily low. but each one of these things gets a lot of attention. >> it's amazing, we haven't had a major terrorist attack here in a very long time. why do you think that we've been able to avert that? >> i think we've put an enormous amount of resources into this nationally. new york gets $180 million every

year from the federal government to help pay for the enormous cost of counterterrorism. >> in rio, where the olympics are just three weeks away, officials say they're beefing up security in light of the attack in france. including increasing the number of checkpoints and traffic restrictions. i would have to imagine that some people are on edge who are going to rio. >> the olympics are a global level security event. and hopefully the brazilians have put into place all the same security structures which are standard at most olympics. i wouldn't say that there's any known threat in south america at this point. >> former executive assistant director of the fbi and nbc national security analyst sean henry said terrorist tactics are changing. how are the methods shifting of the way these attacks are carried out? >> the attackers will look for the place of least resistance.

they will -- and we've seen them move to soft targets, because they're easier to attack. they require less planning. they require less resources. and they can have maximum impact. historically we've looked at iconic attacks. when we look at al qaeda, and their attacks on the world trade center, and u.s. embassies, and navy ships, now we're seeing attackers looking at more targets that are part of the american day-to-day life. restaurants, movie theaters, that sort of thing. >> these attacks are really changing the way that we think, and the way that we go about our daily lives. >> i think people are absolutely adapting the way they live their lives. what's important is that they don't become fearful and completely disrupt their lives. because that's playing into the terrorists' hands. >> henry says everyday citizens can play a valuable role in preventing attacks. >> i think that it's important for people to be alert and aware, because they have the potential to help provide

critical pieces of intelligence that would be valuable to law enforcement in the intelligence agencies to mitigate these threats. if they've got an awareness and they are alert and inform law enforcement, they can avert these attacks. >> nance said the u.s. is at a lower risk than the u.s. >> the united states is far safer than acts of terrorism than most other parts of the world. france right now is being dragged into a, how can i put it, a philosophical clash, a belief that europe and the west and the middle east particularly islam are at war. there is a massive, massive national infrastructure of protection around the united states and around american citizens. the armed forces, the intelligence agencies of the united states, the department of homeland security, the united states has one of the largest police forces in the world. >> have terror attacks become the new normal? keith morrison with some thoughts about what that means

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a day on the french riviera, paradise for 11-year-old tex an brodie copeland and his father, sean. and last night fireworks on the promenade. and then the perfect family vacation came to a nightmarish end. this formerly idyllic waterfront, also washed on a distant shore 5,500 miles away. the small city of lakeway,

texas. home to the copelands. aaron cable, a family friend who coached the copelands' youngest son, is still trying to come to terms. >> it still really hasn't set in. just shocked. very small world. you don't think it's going to happen to somebody you know or somebody you're close to. >> the copelands had here to the french riviera as a family dream vacation. sean and his wife kim were celebrating her 40th birthday. they brought along their kids. this is broedie, a picture his family sent out yesterday afternoon. >> they were excited about their trip. i was envious of them going on this trip. they went and did the running of the bults in spain. >> here in nice last night they watched the bastille day fireworks. minutes after the show ended all hell broke loose. this american family was trapped

in the truck's murderous path. sean copeland and 11-year-old brodie was killed. the family is devastated. the dream vacation now turned nightmare. one tweet said, i just want my cousin and uncle back. >> brody is a kid you want to be friends with. got his sports. your everyday all-around american child. >> baseball brought father and son together, and this haunting image was posted today by kim copeland. >> sean copeland, all-around great father, great guy. in my experiences with him, he was supportive of not only our organization, but everybody in our organization. 100% family man. >> at brody's school, his fifth-grade teacher remembered a popular student known for his intelligence and sense of humor. >> i had told him on the last day of school, when you get your

academy award, i hope you remember to mention me. so it's heartbreaking. that wonderful talented child is not going to be finishing what his dreams were. >> brody was just one of at least ten children killed during the at least 50 more young people were injured. the attack seemed to be coming on an almost weekly basis, each one so shocking. the world has changed. have we? here's keith morrison. >> and so another one. another outrage. another shock to the system. there is a cadence to these things now. lately uptempo. paris barely eight months ago and weeks ago orlando and then

baghdad, istanbul and now here in nice, of all places. in this european playground among relaxed and happy people on a great ancient terrorist's national day, once again a president goes on television to reassure us as president hollande put it, france is in tears. and the freedom celebrated by great victories of the french people begun on that very day, bastille day, are narrowed for the sake of public safety. state of emergency extended, reserves called up, troops on the streets. side long glances at immigrants and fear, fear everywhere. because it could and does target the innocence everywhere. coroding good will and purchasing leak holes in bucket lists. the texas father and son were mowed down watching fireworks as were vacationers from all over

europe. so, do we travel, see the world? or stay home and hide? not that, they tell us. then the terrorists win. but the world seems is different, darker. though there is nothing new about this. terrorists have been with us since long before any of us were born. the a groved and disaffected like the in nice by slaughtering innocence little children in the streets serve a cause. there is a poem that tends to circulate at times like this. there is a haunting thing to hear the opening lines. waves of anger and fear circulate over the bright and darkened plans of the earth, obsessing our private lives. world war ii was starting. and then 15 years ago it started again. so we know about waves of anger

and fear. seemed like the center wouldn't hold then, but it did. and will again in france. so besieged this year by terrorism. back then after september 2001, we settled into something we began to call a new normal. not a pleasant one. and yet last night after that cloud through the innocence in nice, all along that road people opened their doors to perfect strangers offering sanctuary just as they had done after the attacks in paris. the police in orlando tweeted our hearts are breaking for the people of france again. #pray for nice. of course there is good in the world. oceans of it. inextinguishable.

>> some of the most memorable images from a people many people in france and around the world would like to forget when dateline returns. we'll be right back. her. i found her wandering miles from home. when the phone rang at 5am, i knew it was about mom. i see how hard it's been on her at work and i want to help. for the 5 million americans living with alzheimer's, and millions more who feel its effects. let's walk together to make an even bigger impact and end alzheimer's for good. find your walk near you at alz.org/walk. there goes my sensitive bladder. sound familiar? then you'll love this. incredible protection in a pad this thin.

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we can give you the facts, the numbers, try to describe the horror, but in the end, nothing will ever say more about what happened here last night than the images captured in the minutes during and the long, sad

hours after. >> people were running everywhere. screaming. no one understood what's going on. >> we heard screams and pop, pop, pop, pop sounds. just bodies and blood everywhere.

>> i can't tell you how many people i saw die in front of my eyes. >> i'm not sure how to process what i witnessed. i'm very traumatized. nobody should see that at all. >> that's all for this special

edition of dateline. we will have the latest on the attack here tomorrow on nbc nightly news and msnbc. i'm lester holt reporting for nice. from all of us on nbc news, good night. he was definitely charismatic. he lived every single day. he knew it was dangerous, but no one ever knew he would die over it. >> he was the new kid in town, super popular. all about adventure. >> he was awesome. >> he jumped into the culture. >> kind of liked to show off to the