French official: 2 Americans subdued train gunman

Two passengers, including one of the Americans, were seriously injured during the incident. Officials said the suspect had several weapons and a lot of ammunition and the Marines actions prevented a massacre.

“The situation is under control, the travelers are safe”, the train’s operator, Thalys, tweeted in French.

One of the Marines – who were all unarmed and off duty – was left in a critical condition.

Christina Cathleen Coons, an American tourist, said she had been in carriage 12 when the shots rang out.

But a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to NBC News that its anti-terrorist section had taken over the judicial investigation of the train shooting.

Image: The gunman was arrested and is now in police custody.

Hero soldiers tackled a gunman who opened fire on a packed train as it sped through Europe.

‘I would like to express our gratitude to and admiration for these two American passengers, ‘ said Cazeneuve. None of the victims’ names were released. Among the injured was the French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, 60, who was reportedly hurt while breaking a window trying to raise the alarm that an attack was underway.

Earlier reports were that two passengers, one from the United States and another one from Britain, were injured.

Investigators are treating the attack as a terrorist act.

Michel and French President Francois Hollande have agreed to unite their efforts and cooperate, French officials said.

The motivation for the attack is unknown, officials said.

The train was on its way from Amsterdam to Paris, according to a spokesman for France’s interior ministry.

French newspaper website reports indicated the men thought to be Marines just happened to be riding on the train. Stringent checks were in place at St Pancras while a number of travellers were singled out for extra scrutiny by French authorities.

After the incident, the train stopped at Arras station where the passengers were evacuated and the gunman was arrested.

The man, who spoke English with an American accent, was very calm, despite all the blood, Da Silva said.

France has been on edge since a spate of terror attacks that followed after an attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which a dozen people were killed.