France train shooting: Hollande thanks 'heroes' who foiled gunman

[7962]

Source: BBC

French President Francois Hollande has thanked three American men hailed as heroes for overpowering a heavily-armed gunman on a train in northern France.
The incident happened on the high-speed Thalys service near Arras on Friday. A 26-year-old Moroccan man was arrested.
One of the Americans said they took an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun from the attacker as they saw him walk down the aisle of the train.
One of the Americans and another passenger were seriously hurt.
In a press conference on Saturday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the suspect's identity had yet to be confirmed, but it was believed that he had radical Islamist beliefs.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34023361

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They were also awarded the" Legion d'honneur"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34037580

[7962]

1. Funny how they're still so reluctant to admit the gunman's ties to Islamists.

Deal with it; you were already tracking him to start with!

[murielm99]

5. Maybe they are looking for more information

before they say anything else about the shooter. It might not be good to release everything they know just yet. Maybe the shooter had ties to others who can be apprehended and questioned.

[oberliner]

2. Incredible bravery

Heroes in every sense of the word. Probably saved many many lives. Glad to see them recognized.

On a more troubling note, train security seems really lax around the world. Is there anything stopping someone from bringing weapons on board? It seems too easy. What's the solution? Maybe an "air marshall" type deal?

[pipoman]

3. So self defense is legal in France apparently...

Iirc some European countries wouldn't respond positively to this...

[7962]

4. What do you mean? Especially since the guys werent armed?

There are countries that wouldnt want someone to stop a massacre?