Blondeau did confirm that one of the two people with serious injuries was an American, although it is unknown at the time whether that person is one of the Marines. “It could have been a real carnage, there’s no question about that”. He is a current member of the Oregon Army National Guard, Batallion 1-186 infantry and was in France on holiday.
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“I begin to tie him up with help from Chris, another passenger”.
In the scuffle, one of the Marines was shot and is now in a critical condition, France Info reports.
“A guy fell on the ground and blood was everywhere, apparently he was hit in the neck”.
She described lying on the floor herself and taking photos with her phone.
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.
‘They were particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely hard circumstances’.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, declined to comment when asked about the U.S. soldiers and referred questions to authorities in France.
Officials said the gunman carried an automatic assault rifle and a “bladed” weapon.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned what he called “the terrorist attack” and said he and French President Francois Hollande are working closely on the investigation.
The suspect is a 26-year-old Moroccan who authorities say was previously known to intelligence services.
In June, truck driver Yassin Salhi, 35, beheaded his boss Hervé Cornara, 54, before trying to blow up a chemicals factory.
A senior European counterterrorism official told CNN that they believed the shooter to be an Islamist terrorist.
“He spoke about personal difficulties linked to his work and family life which might have led him to commit his crime”.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve went to Arras in the wake of the incident, which occurred shortly after 6.00 pm (2am AEST). He said the president’s thoughts and prayers are with all the victims.
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Amy and her husband Joe were sitting quietly on the Amsterdam-Paris Thalys train when the window behind her was shattered by a bullet, showering her with glass. The two injured people were hospitalized in Arras. “Then the train started to brake, and it stopped in the middle of the countryside”.
