Assailant Hid Gun in Umbrella Before Beach Massacre

A young man unfurled an umbrella and pulled out a Kalashnikov, opening fire on European sunbathers and killing at least 37 at a Tunisian beach resort—one of three deadly attacks today from Europe to the Middle East that followed a call to violence by ISIS extremists. The killings in the Tunisian resort of Sousse happened at about the same time as a bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait and an attack on a US-owned factory in France that included a beheading. It was unclear if the violence was linked but it came days after the ISIS militants urged their followers "to make Ramadan a month of calamities for the nonbelievers." In all, at least 63 people were killed.

Sousse, some 90 miles from Tunis, is a popular resort for both Tunisians and Europeans. Gary Pine, a British tourist, describes his experience with today's attack to Sky News. He says he and his family were on the beach and thought fire crackers were being set off. "There was a mass exodus off the beach," he says, noting that his son said he had seen someone get shot on the beach. Pine said guests at his hotel were first told to lock themselves in their rooms and later to gather in the lobby. Tunisia has been battered by attacks by militants, most recently in March when two Tunisians coming from Libya killed 22 people at the national museum. (More Tunisia stories.)