Posted on Aug 21, 2015
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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
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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
France
Terrorism
Trains
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 98
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Thank God they weren't Soldiers or Airmen coming to the rescue. I didn't see a single reflective belt.
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Col Lyman Faith
Sounds like it was an Airman and a Army National Guardsman that took him down. No Marines.
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Suspended Profile
Turns out they weren't Marines it was an Airman and soldiers!
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Breaking News....French citizens demand off duty Marines wear warning labels written in 20 different languages.
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SN Greg Wright
SFC Mark Merino Hahaha. I thought that was more Canadian style, with their mandated-French AND English signs in Quebec.
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Suspended Profile
Way to go young men! Hope you recover soon, Air Force airman Spencer Stone who was cut with a box cutter in the melee, The other two men were Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, was traveling with childhood friends Stone, of Carmichael, Calif., and Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman from Roseburg, Ore., when they heard a gunshot and breaking glass. Sadler told the AP that they saw a train employee sprint down the aisle followed by a gunman with an automatic rifle.
"As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, 'Spencer, go!' And Spencer runs down the aisle," Sadler said. "Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a boxcutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious." I love that they beat him until he was unconscious!!
"As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, 'Spencer, go!' And Spencer runs down the aisle," Sadler said. "Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a boxcutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious." I love that they beat him until he was unconscious!!
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I have a great book called 'Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals' that I would gladly loan the French. The AP article read: "without their sangfroid we could have been confronted with a terrible drama." Are you kidding me?!
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More proof that Guardsmen (Army & Air) are more than up to the task. Great work gentleman!!!
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A fellow Oregonian, to boot! Way to go, gentlemen.
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