The train was on its way from Amsterdam to Paris, according to a spokesman for France’s interior ministry. A police officer was shot dead outside and five more people were killed in related attacks.
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Coons, identified as a 28-year-old vacationing in Europe, said a window broke above one woman’s head. They eventually got the attacker under control, Norman said.
The French prosecutor’s office said that its anti-terrorist section has taken over the case, “in view of the weaponry used, the way it happened and the context”. Cazeneuve also thanked the Americans for their courage and cool nerves. “He was stopped by passengers”.
Early reports that U.S. Marines were involved proved unfounded; the U.S. Marine Corps at the Pentagon said that the service members on the train weren’t Marines.
Cazeneuve expressed gratitude for “two American passengers who were courageous”, after the gunman opened fire, which he said helped, “avoid a bad drama”.
According to local media reports, the suspect is believed to be a 26-year-old Moroccan, who is known to intelligence services. The French actor Jean-Hughe Anglade reportedly sustained minor injuries to his hand while raising alarm. At least one of the victims seriously wounded was an American.
Cazeneuve described the shooting as “an attack of barbaric violence”.
The train attack has not officially been classified as an act of terrorism, although the senior European counterterrorism official indicated it was suspected. It occurred before the train crossed from Belgium into France, Hollande’s office said in a statement, adding that he and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel have discussed the incident and vowed to cooperate closely in the investigation.
French official: Gunman in train attack was subdued by 2 American passengers.
The suspect was armed with an automatic rifle and a knife, said Christophe Piednoel, spokesman for national railway operator SNCF.
They showed “great bravery in very trying circumstances”, he said.
Another man was taken away for treatment by emergency services in a wheelchair.
“I saw the man who was shot in the neck stumble”, she told NBC News.
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France remains on edge after Islamic extremists attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January.
