Stab victim’s dying words: ‘Tell my children that I love them’

THE final words of a Brazilian mother of three who staggered from the Catholic church in Nice after Thursday’s terror attack to raise the alarm were: “Tell my children that I love them”, according to French reports.

Simone Barreto Silva, 44, had lived in France for 30 years and had three children, said the Brazilian consulate in

Paris. She was stabbed by the Tunisian migrant Brahim Aoussaoui, who also slit the throat of the sacristan Vincent Loques, 55, as he prepared for Mass.

The third victim, described by French authorities as an elderly woman, was virtually beheaded near the church’s holy water.

Witnesses said Ms Silva staggered to a nearby halal burger bar before dying of her stab wounds. According to local media, when paramedics arrived at the scene, she managed to say: “Tell my children that I love them” before she died.

Reports say she moved to France from Brazil as a teenager, loved dancing samba, and was devoted to the Church and Jesus Christ. She had been working as a carer for the elderly and dreamt of travelling around the world in a food truck, her friend Ivana Gomes Amorim told Brazilian media. Brahim Jelloule, manager of the Unik cafe across the road from the church’s side entrance in Nice, said: “She crossed the road, covered in blood.”

Anderson Argolo, a priest from an Afro-brazilian religion who knew Silva’s family, told a Brazilian news website: “She was also a fighter, and she died like a warrior. Despite being hurt, she ran and was able to sound the alarm, preventing a bigger tragedy.”

Ms Silva was originally from Bahia, in northeast Brazil, but as a young woman moved to France and studied at Nice Sophia Antipolis University, according to her Facebook profile. She trained as a chef before moving into care.

The picture on her Facebook profile had an image of Christ and the words, in French: “I am the one who loves you.”

She also posted prayers in Portuguese.

Angela Tavares, who runs a bar and restaurant in the building where Ms Silva lived, told Le Monde: “Simone was an extraordinary woman, always smiling. She talked to everyone. She often came to eat with us with her family and her sister. They were good people.”

Nathalie Moya, who helped her in her cooking studies, said: “She had three children, including two young ones. She loved everyone and was very religious. If they had wanted to strike a symbol, one of joie de vivre, then they couldn’t have found better.”

The second Nice victim, Vincent Loques, 55, the church sexton and a father of two, was also described as incredibly kind, helpful and full of “compassion and joie de vivre”.

The third victim, a 60-year- old woman whose identity has not yet been disclosed, was reportedly a regular churchgoer who was married and had two grown-up children.

Brazil’s foreign ministry said its Paris embassy was assisting the dead woman’s family. “Brazil expresses its firm repudiation of all forms of terrorism, regardless of its motivation, and reaffirms its commitment to combat and eradicate this scourge,” a spokesman said.

‘Despite being hurt, she ran and was able to sound the alarm, preventing a bigger tragedy’