He was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Lille. Luckily, no one was fatally shot but three passengers – including both of the Marines – were injured.
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“I can confirm they are Americans who subdued the gunman but nothing more”, said Capt. Richard Ulsh, a spokesman for U.S. Marine Forces Europe. “The injury is not life-threatening”.
The suspect had several weapons and lots of ammunition, the official said, saying the Marines prevented a massacre.
One of the Americans who confronted the gunmen was injured, sources said. “We possibly avoided a much worse catastrophe”, he added. “Without their cool-headed actions we could have been faced with a awful incident”. “(The Americans were) particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely hard circumstances”.
“The situation is under control, the travelers are safe”, said a spokesperson for the train company, Thalys, in a tweet.
A spokesman for French railway SNCF said on iTele television, “The man was armed with automatic weapons and blades”. His motives are not yet known.
Investigators from France’s special anti-terror police are leading the investigation, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
An American and a Briton were reportedly among those injured.
The attack on the high-speed Thalys train traveling between Amsterdam and Paris happened early on Friday evening.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve is heading to Arras to meet with officials, Brandet said.
National Guard soldier Alek Skarlatos said in an interview that his friend, Spencer Stone, who is also in the military, did not hesitate when he spotted the gunman holding what appeared to be a machine gun and tackled him.
A third person, French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, suffered a minor injury while activating the train’s emergency alarm, Lorthiois said.
In Arras, stunned passengers waited to speak to police as the Red Cross distributed bottled water.
France has remained on a high state of alert since the terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January.
The minister urged caution over the likely nature of the attack, which he said was a matter for the prosecutor to investigate.
The train was heading to Paris when the attack occurred.
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Authorities met them at the next station as the train doors opened, she said. He said the president’s thoughts and prayers are with all the victims.
