Train shooting comes as France on high terror alert

The U.S. Marines reportedly “detained” the terrorist suspect until the train, which was carrying approximately 550 passengers, arrived in the town of Arras in Northern France. Twitter erupted with news of the two soldiers shutting down the gunman as more than one person tweeted that it was right out of a real-life “Mission Impossible” movie.

Three people were injured – two critically.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve applauded the heroic and fearless actions taken by the U.S. Marines, saying, “Thanks to them we have averted a drama”.

The two men, who haven’t yet been identified, were near a bathroom when they heard a familiar and frightening sound: the bolt being thrown on a Kalashnikov rifle as someone prepared to fire.

The gunman is believed to have boarded the train in Brussels, Belgium armed with automatic weapons, knives and at least nine full magazines of ammunition holding nearly 300 rounds, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

“It’s important for me, together with the president of the Republic and the prime minister, to express to the two American passengers, who have been particularly courageous, who acted during a very hard situation, all our gratitude for what they did”.

“We do not know his motives”.

“Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment”, Pierre Henry Brandet, military spokesperson, said.

But last night, local police began the investigation before handing over to counter-terrorism specialists.

French President François Hollande said in a statement that “everything is being done to shed light” on the shooting. The third victim, French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who plays a police officer in the French crime drama “Braquo”, sustained minor injuries.

In an unrelated Islamic State-inspired attack, a man beheaded his boss and attempted to blow up a gas plant in southern France in June.

A massacre on a high-speed train in France was prevented Friday when two U.S. Marines in civilian clothing surprised an Islamist militant, a senior European counterterrorism official told CNN.