PARIS, French Republic. A gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris Friday, wounding three people, two of them critically, officials said.
The suspect was arrested after the train stopped in Arras, 115 miles (185 kilometers north of Paris, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said on French television BFM.
Passengers were evacuated and police have secured the area. Passengers on the train subdued the gunman and prevented further carnage, said Christophe Piednoel, spokesman for national railway operator SNCF.
The train was then diverted to Arras, where police arrested the suspect, Piednoel said on French television i-Tele.
Investigators from France’s special anti-terror police are leading the investigation, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The attack took place while the train was passing through Belgium, according to a statement from the office Presidend Francois Hollande.
Hollande said he’s spoken with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and the two leaders pledged to cooperate closely on the investigation.
Two of the victims were in critical condition, according to a statement from Hollande’s office.
The suspect is a 26-year-old Moroccan, said Sliman Hamzi, an official with police union Alliance, said on French television i-Tele. The suspect was armed with an automatic rifle and a knife, Piednoel said.
France’s interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve was en route to Arras.
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says two American passengers subdued the gunman who opened fire on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris.
He said one of the Americans was hospitalized with serious wounds.
Cazeneuve said the American passengers “were particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances” and that “without their sangfroid we could have been confronted with a terrible drama.”
A second person was also seriously wounded in the attack, while a third is being treated for minor injuries. Cazeneuve spoke in Arras in northern France, where the suspect was taken into custody.
The Pentagon says one U.S. military service member was injured Friday, apparently while trying to subdue a gunman who opened fire on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris.
The Pentagon says the service member does not have life-threatening injuries. Officials say three people were injured overall as two Americans subdued the shooter.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking in Arras in northern France, where the suspected was detained, also said one American was hospitalized with serious wounds.
The names of the two Americans were not released. An official with the French police union Alliance said the suspect is a 26-year-old Moroccan.
A spokesman for national railway operator SNCF said the suspect was armed with an automatic rifle and a knife.
Credit: NZ Herald / AP
