At least three individuals have been injured after a man, reportedly armed with a Kalashninov rifle, opened fire on a Thalys high-speed practice between Amsterdam and Paris on Friday. The attacker was apprehended by troopers touring on the identical practice, in accordance to native media. The taking pictures occurred close to the city of Arras in northern France round 6:00pm native time (4:00pm GMT). The railway station in Arras was locked down by safety forces.
“The man was armed with automatic weapons and knives. He was stopped by passengers,” Christophe Piednoel, a spokesman for French railway SNCF stated on iTele tv. Police stated the 26-year-old man was of Moroccan origin.
According to La Voix du Nord newspaper, a US and British troopers apprehended the attacker after listening to the noise of a machine gun being loaded in the bathroom. One of the troopers was shot, whereas the opposite was stabbed within the battle with the gunman.
Other reviews counsel three US marines stopped the assailant.
The third injured individual is reportedly French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade. The 60-year-old has starred in over 30 films, together with worldwide hits Killing Zoe, Betty Blue and Nikita. His life is out of hazard.
“The situation is under control, the travellers are safe. The train stopped and the emergency services are on site,” Thalys officers stated on Twitter. The attacker was detained by the police. He has not been recognized but.
“Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment,” Pierre Henry Brandet, Interior Ministry spokesman, informed BFM-TV. According to prosecutors, French counter-terrorist police have taken over the investigation of the assault.
France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the scene in individual.
France’s anti-terrorism prosector is now investigating the incident, he stated. The minister additionally praised two American residents who helped to disarm the attacker by saying that they had been “particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances,” Reuters reviews.
President Francois Hollande has expressed his solidarity with the wounded making certain that “everything is being done to shed light on this tragedy.”
An unconfirmed video of the suspect’s arrest is circulating on social media.