Posted on Aug 22, 2015
Col Squadron Commander
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You never know where we may be at any given time. But we will always stand up and defend!
http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123456624
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MSgt Donald G.
Unarmed US service members take down Kalashnikov-wielding gunman onboard a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris.

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A group of unarmed US service members on board a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris foiled a terrorist attack after a gunman opened fire with an assault rifle, wounding three people.

The 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, came out of the toilet brandishing the gun and opened fire. Fortunately, two US service members were nearby and overpowered him before he could massacre passengers.

The suspected terrorist had at least nine full magazines of ammunition holding almost 200 rounds. He was also carrying a knife.

Unfortunately, one of the service members was shot and is believed to be in a critical condition.

Speaking in Arras, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the service members for their timely intervention.

He said: 'Thanks to them we have averted a drama.

'(The Americans were) particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances.'

The man was arrested by police near the town of Arras in northern France.

Train company Thalys confirmed the incident happened. A spokesman said: 'The situation is under control, the travellers are safe. The train stopped and the emergency services are on site.'

No one at the SNCF French railways was immediately available to comment on the report.
A report on Twitter said that three US service members detained the gunman until emergency services arrived.

The incident happened at approximately 6pm local time.

French newspaper Le Monde is reporting that one Briton may be among the injured.

The motives behind the attack were not immediately known, although a spokesman for the interior minister said: 'It is too early to speak of a terrorist link'.

The incident happened approximately 115 miles north of Paris near the town of Arras

Investigators from France's special anti-terror police are leading the investigation, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Two of the victims are in a critical condition. The suspect is a 26-year-old Moroccan, said Sliman Hamzi, an official with police union Alliance.

A spokesman for the French state rail company SNCF said that the assailant was armed with guns and knives but gave no further details about the attack.

An American and a Briton were reportedly among those injured.

The gunman was arrested after the train pulled into the station in the northern French town of Arras, the SNCF spokesman told AFP.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve arrived at the scene in Arras in the wake of the incident, which occurred shortly after 6pm local time.

His spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet confirmed to AFP that a man had opened fire on the train but said that at this stage "we do not know his motives".

The French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who appeared in the 1986 cult film 'Betty Blue' staring Beatrice Dalle, was lightly injured. It is understood he cut his hand while breaking the glass on the emergency alarm.

Anglade also played the hard-nosed cop Eddy Caplan in the gritty French crime drama Braquo.
Thalys said on its website that several trains had been delayed after the 'intervention of security forces at Arras station'.

'The train is at the station and emergency services are at the scene,' said Thalys, which is jointly owned by the national rail companies of Belgium, France and Germany.

France remains on edge after Islamic extremists attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January.

In June, a man beheaded his boss and tried to blow up a gas plant in southern France in what prosecutors say was an attack inspired by ISIS.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of reports of shots being fired on a train in France.

'The French authorities have responded, we are in contact with them and are urgently seeking more information.'

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said: ‘A man opened fire on this Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris, one person was very seriously injured. Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment.’

Francois Hollande, the French president, has said: ‘I express my solidarity with the wounded from the attack on the train from Amsterdam to Paris. Everything is being done to shed light on this tragedy.’


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3206426/U-S-Marines-armed-gunman-onboard-high-speed-train-Amsterdam-Paris.html
Responses: 5
CMSgt James Nolan
Col (Join to see) I agree with LCDR (Join to see) I would love to have known an Airman was involved and similarly would love for the AF to recognize that Marines were as well. Now, I have no clue who really was/not a player because writers are selectively omitting key facts and relevant info
TSgt Joshua Copeland
TSgt Joshua Copeland
>1 y
CMSgt James Nolan , news out of EUCOM is that zero Marine were involved. One Airmen, One Army, One Civilian.
CMSgt James Nolan
CMSgt James Nolan
>1 y
TSgt Joshua Copeland I saw that just a bit ago. Thank you, it is funny how news breaks! I was just telling a friend that somebody probably thought that since there was a fight, must have been Marines....
No matter how you cut it, I agree with the others, glad that somebody stepped in. And to be honest, I am glad to hear that an Airman was involved in it (we all know how much others love to point fingers LOL). On a serious note, I sincerely hope the sustained injuries are not critical.
TSgt Joshua Copeland
TSgt Joshua Copeland
>1 y
CMSgt James Nolan, I seen recently that he walked out of the hospital.
CMSgt James Nolan
CMSgt James Nolan
>1 y
TSgt Joshua Copeland That is awesome news.
MSgt Curtis Ellis
AIR POWER!!! :)
TSgt Joshua Copeland
TSgt Joshua Copeland
>1 y
here here!
Capt Seid Waddell
The latest report I have heard was that an Airman, an Army Inactive Reservist and a civilian were the ones that took the terrorist down. The Airman was stabbed in the neck with a box cutter and the other two were uninjured. The three were friends travelling together.

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