An armed man opened fire on a high-speed train en route from Amsterdam to Paris, wounding three people, before he was subdued by two Americans --reportedly U.S. Marines — one of whom was seriously hurt.
The Associated Press quoted French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve as saying the suspect was in custody and that one of the Americans was hospitalized with serious wounds. Their names were not immediately released.
Cazeneuve was speaking at Arras, about 115 miles north of Paris, the scene where the train was halted following the attack. He was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that the two Americans who subdued the gunman were "particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances."
The assailant, identified by French television as Sliman Hamzi, 26, of Morocco, was reportedly armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a semi-automatic pistol and a knife.
The BBC, quoting French media, said the passengers who overpowered the suspect were U.S. Marines "who had heard the man loading a weapon in a toilet cubicle and confronted him when he came out."
A statement from French President Francois Hollande said the attack took place while the Thalys train was passing through Belgium.
France 24 reports:
"Investigators from France's special anti-terror police are leading the investigation into the attack, which occurred just before 6 pm local time. "National railway operator SNCF said that all passengers had been evacuated and that police had secured the area."
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