Stone said another man, who is French and whose name has not been disclosed, “deserves a lot of the credit” because he was the first one to try to stop the gunman, whom authorities have identified as Ayoub el Khazzani, 26, of Morocco.
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That was enough firepower to slaughter dozens in a matter of minutes.
The Moroccan told David he had found the Kalashnikov he had taken onto the train in a park near the Gare du Midi rail station in Brussels where he was in the habit of sleeping. [The gunman] just kept pulling out more weapons. He was being interrogated through an interpreter, since he speaks only a few words of French, she said.
The gunman was overpowered by passengers who included an American soldier. Both his guns, an AK-47 and a Luger pistol, appeared to have jammed, he said. It ‘s unclear whether he made it to Syria, the official said. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called the incident a “terrorist attack”.
[Charlie Hebdo assailants had military-style equipment].
Spencer Stone, an American Air Force serviceman stabbed while tackling a gunman on a European train, has been transferred to a larger hospital in northern France.
But his lawyer, Sophie David, has told French TV that her client only meant to rob people because he was hungry. The French designation flagged him for heightened scrutiny when he entered and exited borders.
“In the beginning it was mostly gut instinct, survival”, he said. French authorities can legally hold him for questioning until Tuesday, when they must charge him or free him.
France’s security services have placed been on high alert since January when Islamist militants killed 17 people in and around Paris – including the attacks at the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket. They nearly didn’t get on the train because they were considering staying another day, Solon Skarlatos said.
An official linked to Spain’s anti-terrorism unit told the Associated Press that El-Kazzani had lived in Spain until previous year, then moved to France, from where he travelled to Syria and returned to France. Some Spanish newspapers said he may have been radicalized while in prison. The attacker was in the bathroom when he was discovered by a French citizen.
That’s when the Americans sprang into action. “If he had known what he was doing, or even just got lucky and did the right thing, he would have been able to operate through all eight of those magazines”.
The suspect had a box cutter or some other bladed weapon, authorities said.
On Monday, they will be given the Legion of Honor by Hollande in the ornate Elysee Palace, along with a Briton and a Frenchman who also helped subdue the shooter.
“We ran down, tackled him and hit the ground”. “It’s a miracle the attack failed”. Finally, he said, the man got to a box cutter and began slashing him.
A gun was fired and a French-American passenger was injured by the bullet.
“Without his help he would’ve died”.
Stone said he had just awakened when he saw the gunmen with an AK-47.
Stone was treated and released on Saturday, according to U.S. officials.
“It is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy”, U.S. President Barack Obama said.
Stone said he doesn’t know when he is going back to the United States, but said he will first go to Germany for medical care.
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Security on board the high-speed Thalys service on which the incident took place is being stepped up.
