Paris train attack

[Thanas]

stopped by US tourists

A heavily armed gunman has opened fire on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris before being overpowered by three US citizens, two of whom were soldiers.

[...]

Two of the Americans were in the military, their travelling companion and childhood friend Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, said.

The one injured was named as air force serviceman Spencer Stone from Sacramento, California. The other was Alek Skarlatos, of Roseburg, Oregon.

“We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle,” Sadler said. The trio then saw a gunman entering the carriage with an automatic rifle, he added.

“As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells: ‘Spencer, go!’ and Spencer runs down the aisle,” Sadler said. “Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.”

Sadler later told AFP the gunman had demanded his weapon back. He said: “He was just telling us to give back his gun. ‘Give me back my gun! Give me back my gun!’ But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it.

“I’m just a college student. I came to see my friends for my first trip to Europe and we stop a terrorist. It’s kind of crazy.”

Skarlatos, who had recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the national guard, told Sky News the gunman’s AK-47 had jammed and that he had not known how to fix it.

“If that guy’s weapon had been functioning properly, I don’t even want to think about how it would have went,” he said. “We just did what we had to do. You either run away or fight. We chose to fight and got lucky and didn’t die.”

Well done.

[Knife]

Lucky bastards. Small confined area of a train car makes a natural firing lane. If that rifle hadn't have jammed, lots of people would be dead. Good on them, though. Takes huge balls to rush a shooter.

[salm]

Awesome reaction by these two guys.

[Welf]

The suspect claims he is a train robber, not a terrorist:

source

A gunman overpowered by passengers, including three Americans, on an express train after allegedly opening fire inside a coach is astonished at being branded a terrorist, his former lawyer said in a television interview Sunday.

Ayoub El Khazzani, 25, has insisted he intended to rob passengers on the train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris after finding a gun in a suitcase in a park in central Brussels where he was sleeping. And he told police he did not fire a single shot, according to the lawyer, Sophie David, even though one passenger was wounded by a bullet and others reported hearing shots fired. El Khazzani was reportedly in possession of two guns at the time.
FRANCE-US-TRAIN-ATTACK

From left, Cal State Sacramento student Anthony Sadler, U.S. serviceman Spencer Stone, U.S. ambassador to France Jane Hartley and National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos pose after a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Paris on Sunday. (Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images)

"He is dumbfounded that his action has taken on a terrorist dimension," David told French television channel BFMTV.

"He doesn't understand why this story has taken on such importance," she said. "He took weapons and boarded the train to basically extort money from the passengers."

David was the Moroccan-born El Khazzani's lawyer during his first interrogation in Arras, the northern French town where he was arrested. She is no longer representing him since he was moved for questioning to France's anti-terrorist headquarters on the outskirts of Paris.

David described the arrested man as "very thin...very haggard" and said he understood only a few words of French, answering questions in Arabic instead through an interpreter.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Saturday that El Khazzani's name appeared on security alert lists in three countries -- Belgium, France and Spain -- because of his alleged links to radical Islamic organizations. French media reported that, after being alerted by their Spanish counterparts, French authorities classified El Khazzani as a Grade 3 security threat in France, on a 16-point scale where 1 is most dangerous and 16 the least.

German intelligence services say El Khazzani appeared on their radar in May when he took a plane from Berlin to Istanbul, the Turkish capital. Most jihadis traveling to join Islamic State in Syria travel through Turkey. Spanish security services also insist that El Khazzani returned from Syria to France, but there appear to be discrepancies between the French and Spanish intelligence services' accounts of his movements.

David said El Khazzani denied being in either Turkey or Syria.

"He denies having gone to Turkey or Syria and says he traveled around Spain, Andorra, Belgium, Austria and Germany during the last six months, as well as one visit to France. Convicted twice for drug trafficking in Spain in 2013, El Khazzani has told police he worked as a painter and decorator in Spain, David added.
cComments

There always seems to be a far left liberal like Sophie David available to explain away the actions of the criminals like El Khazani. How in the world she can keep a straight face when she says he "found" the AK47 or he "didn't shoot" when he was the only person with...
jake1968
at 10:12 AM August 23, 2015

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El Khazzani was wrestled to the ground by U.S. servicemen Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos on Friday evening shortly after the Thalys train crossed the border from Belgium, where El Khazzani boarded the train, into northern France. A third American, student Anthony Sadler, also helped overpower the gunman after he emerged bare-chested from the lavatory in a coach near the rear of the train, armed with an AK-47, a Luger pistol and a box cutter.

The men have been hailed as national heroes in France and praised for averting a bloodbath on the train.

Stone, a U.S. airman stationed at Lajes Air Base in the Azores, where he worked as a medical technician in pediatrics and with expectant mothers, suffered cuts to his hand, arm and the back of the head after grabbing El Khazzani and holding him in a headlock. He was operated on at a clinic in the northern French city of Lille, but allowed to leave the hospital on Saturday evening.

Skarlatos, 22, from Roseburg, Ore., who returned from Afghanistan in June and re-enlisted as a rifleman in the National Guard, and Sadler, 23, a senior at Cal State Sacramento, wrestled the gunman to the ground, beat him unconscious and tied him up, using a necktie, with the help of British businessman Chris Norman. The three young Americans, childhood friends, were vacationing together in Europe.

Besides Stone, two other passengers were injured. One, a French American shot in the throat, was in a serious condition in a hospital; the second, a French actor, cut his hand badly after punching through glass to pull the emergency stop lever.

David, the lawyer, said her former client insisted that the Kalashnikov rifle jammed and that he did not fire a single shot.

"When I told him people had been injured, he almost fell off his chair. As far as he was concerned, there were no shots fired. The Kalashnikov didn't work," David said on Sunday.

The three Americans, as well as Norman and a 28-year-old unidentified French banker who confronted El Khazzani as he came out of the washroom, will be received by French President François Hollande at the Elysée Palace on Monday.

He must be a total idiot if he thinks people fall for this. Which ironically only supports his story. In fact, he seems a bit too stupid to be a real terrorist.

[Tanasinn]

Most of these lone wolf types are "too stupid," which makes them useful in a certain dimension. They'll do dumb, suicidal things that will get themselves killed in the process of killing civilians. Usually they at least have the stones to stick to their jihadi convictions instead of making up fantasies about finding a gun in the park.

[Knife]

I've read in a couple places that he was noted by many countries and many agencies as a potential problem.

[cmdrjones]

stopped by US tourists

A heavily armed gunman has opened fire on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris before being overpowered by three US citizens, two of whom were soldiers.

[...]

Two of the Americans were in the military, their travelling companion and childhood friend Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, said.

The one injured was named as air force serviceman Spencer Stone from Sacramento, California. The other was Alek Skarlatos, of Roseburg, Oregon.

“We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle,” Sadler said. The trio then saw a gunman entering the carriage with an automatic rifle, he added.

“As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells: ‘Spencer, go!’ and Spencer runs down the aisle,” Sadler said. “Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.”

Sadler later told AFP the gunman had demanded his weapon back. He said: “He was just telling us to give back his gun. ‘Give me back my gun! Give me back my gun!’ But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it.

“I’m just a college student. I came to see my friends for my first trip to Europe and we stop a terrorist. It’s kind of crazy.”

Skarlatos, who had recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the national guard, told Sky News the gunman’s AK-47 had jammed and that he had not known how to fix it.

“If that guy’s weapon had been functioning properly, I don’t even want to think about how it would have went,” he said. “We just did what we had to do. You either run away or fight. We chose to fight and got lucky and didn’t die.”

Well done.

I'll wait for the investigation to be over before saying much of anything. These guys were Marines according to the media at one point. The 'Jihadi killer' also sounds like a delusional moron too, though they aren't mutually exclusive.

[Broomstick]

The suspect claims he is a train robber, not a terrorist:

Oh, right, because that would somehow make carrying an AK-47, pistol, and box-cutter on a passenger train totally OK, right?

"Stupid motherfucker" is the description that comes to mind here...

I'll wait for the investigation to be over before saying much of anything. These guys were Marines according to the media at one point. The 'Jihadi killer' also sounds like a delusional moron too, though they aren't mutually exclusive.

Speaking of stupid...

Any media report saying that was written by stupid motherfuckers who didn't do their basic research. One guy was Air Force, another was National Guard, the third, if I recall correctly, is "just a college student".

And, by the way, two other passengers who helped out will also be getting the French Legion of Honor as well. Yes, some of these guys in taking down Mr. Stupid Motherfucker had military training and I'm sure it helped. Some of these guys were ordinary citizens who weren't afraid to take on a bad guy. But I guess a 60+ year old white African and a 50+ year old college professor just aren't as sexy to parade in front of cameras as three young guys. Not to diminish what the young guys did, especially Mr Stone who, despite nearly having his left thumb sliced off and some other injuries, also rendered life-saving first aid to Mr. Moogalian who suffered the worst injuries that day. It's just not fair to the other two guys they aren't being hyped as well.

Of course, I'm used to the US media fellating the notion of military men as heroes, to the point of ignoring anyone else who might be involved. The fact they also fuck up saying which branch the guys were in is just more stupid sauce on top of bad reporting.

Just for the record - the names and nationalities of those receiving awards today are as follows:

Spencer Stone - American, Air Force
Alex Skarlatos - American, National Guard
Anthony Sandler - American, civilian
Chris Norman - British passport, originally from Uganda and raised in South Africa, lives in France

In addition, Mark Moogalian, American civilian, Sorbonne professor, was the first to grab at the rifle. He wasn't at the ceremony today because he's still recovering from a punctured lung and slashed neck but I'm certain he'll be getting a medal as well.

[Zaune]

Oh, right, because that would somehow make carrying an AK-47, pistol, and box-cutter on a passenger train totally OK, right?

Armed robbery carries a (slightly) reduced penalty compared to conspiracy to murder in a lot of jurisdictions, and he might not have to bunk with the kiddy-fiddlers in the segregation wing if he's charged as a mugger instead of a terrorist, so you can't blame him for trying.

[Broomstick]

I'm not conversant with the French system of incarceration, but I suspect they may handle terrorists differently than putting them with "kiddly-fiddlers". For that matter, their legal system is significantly different than that of most of the US and I wouldn't assume anything about how, exactly, terrorism is addressed or relative harshness of sentence between that and another crime.

[cmdrjones]

The suspect claims he is a train robber, not a terrorist:

Oh, right, because that would somehow make carrying an AK-47, pistol, and box-cutter on a passenger train totally OK, right?

"Stupid motherfucker" is the description that comes to mind here...

I'll wait for the investigation to be over before saying much of anything. These guys were Marines according to the media at one point. The 'Jihadi killer' also sounds like a delusional moron too, though they aren't mutually exclusive.

Speaking of stupid...

Any media report saying that was written by stupid motherfuckers who didn't do their basic research. One guy was Air Force, another was National Guard, the third, if I recall correctly, is "just a college student".

And, by the way, two other passengers who helped out will also be getting the French Legion of Honor as well. Yes, some of these guys in taking down Mr. Stupid Motherfucker had military training and I'm sure it helped. Some of these guys were ordinary citizens who weren't afraid to take on a bad guy. But I guess a 60+ year old white African and a 50+ year old college professor just aren't as sexy to parade in front of cameras as three young guys. Not to diminish what the young guys did, especially Mr Stone who, despite nearly having his left thumb sliced off and some other injuries, also rendered life-saving first aid to Mr. Moogalian who suffered the worst injuries that day. It's just not fair to the other two guys they aren't being hyped as well.

Of course, I'm used to the US media fellating the notion of military men as heroes, to the point of ignoring anyone else who might be involved. The fact they also fuck up saying which branch the guys were in is just more stupid sauce on top of bad reporting.

Just for the record - the names and nationalities of those receiving awards today are as follows:

Spencer Stone - American, Air Force
Alex Skarlatos - American, National Guard
Anthony Sandler - American, civilian
Chris Norman - British passport, originally from Uganda and raised in South Africa, lives in France

In addition, Mark Moogalian, American civilian, Sorbonne professor, was the first to grab at the rifle. He wasn't at the ceremony today because he's still recovering from a punctured lung and slashed neck but I'm certain he'll be getting a medal as well.

You'd think the French would be hyping Mr Norman and Mr Moogalian the most since while not French citizens, they do live in France as sort of second sons if you will....

[Broomstick]

You'd think the French would be hyping Mr Norman and Mr Moogalian the most since while not French citizens, they do live in France as sort of second sons if you will....

They are.

In fact, it was the French media where I got my information on those gentlemen. The difference between me and some other folks is that I can actually read French newspapers (albeit in a somewhat halting fashion at times) so I can see first-hand what they're reporting on rather than relying on what the English media see fit to translate.

Actually, Mr. Stone is probably the one being talked up most, but then, he not only fought the Bad Guy, he ignored his injuries to help someone else, which is pretty damn heroic in my book even if the adrenaline of the moment might have masked some of his pain.

To be fair, some of the French reporting is starting to trickle to the Anglosphere.

[cmdrjones]

You'd think the French would be hyping Mr Norman and Mr Moogalian the most since while not French citizens, they do live in France as sort of second sons if you will....

They are.

In fact, it was the French media where I got my information on those gentlemen. The difference between me and some other folks is that I can actually read French newspapers (albeit in a somewhat halting fashion at times) so I can see first-hand what they're reporting on rather than relying on what the English media see fit to translate.

Actually, Mr. Stone is probably the one being talked up most, but then, he not only fought the Bad Guy, he ignored his injuries to help someone else, which is pretty damn heroic in my book even if the adrenaline of the moment might have masked some of his pain.

To be fair, some of the French reporting is starting to trickle to the Anglosphere.

Vraiment? J'ai aucun Idee que vous parlez Francais! mais, Quelle pas surprise, non? Je cherche comme toujours le gens qui parlent francais a' un niveau plus haut que moi. J'ai le chance a'jourdhui!

[Broomstick]

Je ne dis pas que je pouvais parler français, je disais que je pouvais le lire.

Je ne l'ai pas parlé depuis si longtemps. Peut-être que vous ne voudriez pas me comprendre. Il est très mauvais. Il est tres lent, aussi.

But, if I recall, we're supposed to be in English here.

[Lagmonster]

People, the board is Canadian. Francophones everywhere. Back to business.

[cmdrjones]

People, the board is Canadian. Francophones everywhere. Back to business.

This. Explains. Everything.

[Borgholio]

People, the board is Canadian. Francophones everywhere. Back to business.

This. Explains. Everything.

Care to elaborate what you are talking aboot, eh?

[cmdrjones]

People, the board is Canadian. Francophones everywhere. Back to business.

This. Explains. Everything.

Care to elaborate what you are talking aboot, eh?

No good, I've known too many Canadians, er Spaniards

[Ziggy Stardust]

... what?

[Rogue 9]

... what?

"I could give you my word as a Spaniard."
"No good. I've known too many Spaniards."

[cmdrjones]

... what?

"I could give you my word as a Spaniard."
"No good. I've known too many Spaniards."

Bravo!

[Ziggy Stardust]

To out myself as a cultural heretic, I have actually never seen a single second of that movie.

[cmdrjones]

To out myself as a cultural heretic, I have actually never seen a single second of that movie.

Best to watch it with the heart of a 12 year old just venturing into the world...
AS an adult, in this day and age with most people being so jaded, it loses a lot of its punch.
In a way, I feel a bit sorry that you won't be able to see it for the 1st time as a kid like I did.