Three Americans and a French passenger helped subdue a gunman on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday. Their heroic act helped save the lives of those on board and no one was killed.
One of the Americans was a civilian, while another was an Air Force member. The third was a member of the National Guard, reports CNN. The two tackled the gunman, who emerged from a bathroom with a rifle, according to witnesses.
Three people on the train did suffer non life-threatening injuries, including one of the Americans. According to USA Today, the Pentagon confirmed that the wounded american was Air Force serviceman Spencer Stone. He was stabbed during the attack.
The train stopped at Arras, a city in northern France where the train stopped. The suspect was then arrested.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the identity of the gunman has not been 100 percent confirmed, reports USA Today. He told reporters in Paris today that the suspect could be a 26-year-old Moroccan who Spanish authorities said had links to radical Islamic groups. The man lived in Spain last year and was living in Belgium recently.
The suspect was carrying nine chargers, a Luger pistol, a 9mm charger, a box cutter and a Kalashnikov assault weapon, Cazeneuve said.
The other Americans credited with subduing the gunman are civilian Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, who is in the National Guard. All three are friends and were on vacation.
“My friend Alek Skarlatos yells, 'Get him!,' so my friend Spencer Stone immediately gets up to charge the guy, followed by Alek, then myself,” Sadler told CNN. “The three of us beat up the guy. In the process, Spencer gets slashed multiple times by the box cutter, and Alek takes the AK away.”
screenshot from Euronews YouTube video