Hadn't seen this posted yet. I'm always leery of any mainstream news article, but this one doesn't seem to have much of a spin to it. Regardless, it sounds like it ended much better than it could have otherwise, and I hope the Marine who was shot makes a full & speedy recovery.
Cool story. Reads like a movie plot - mysterious man's plot to kill passengers on bullet train thwarted by off-duty US service members.
2 unarmed U.S. Marines > 1 armed French terrorist
Beer Baron wrote:
2 unarmed U.S. Marines > 1 armed French terrorist
The terrorist was Moroccan.
T.J.
UltimaDork
8/21/15 10:28 p.m.
With an AK-47 and 300 rounds plus a knife.
T.J. wrote:
With an AK-47 and 300 rounds plus a knife.
and a pistol of some sort, which was the only weapon he had a chance to fire before being tackled by (i think) the National Guardsman... or maybe it was the Air Force guy... either way, that kind of had to suck, thinking he had a bullet train full of victims only to get taken out and beat to unconsciousness by a couple of unarmed guys... my favorite part, tho, is how the guy was begging for his AK while they were pounding on him and hog tying him with t shirts..
Cool story, and I'm proud of my fellow military members.
That said, was the writing of that story some of the worst gibberish ever?? Seriously, a grade school teacher needs to take that author by the ear and make him rewrite it until it's coherent. And then copy it out longhand 500 times to drive the point home. Grumble.
The news this morning said it was three U.S. servicemen. If I had been one of them, they would have had to stop me from stomping his head flat.
Good job, guys. And I'm with bill, had I been one of them the guy would have fallen down a whole lot.
I'm seeing varying reports now...3 Americans, one airman, one civilian, and one army reserve. Stories stating the attacker wasn't a terrorist, he was "just" attempting a train heist, and happened to find the AK in a bag in a park somewhere...
I saw an interview with two of the Americans. The third was in the hospital with a cut hand. It was reported he was shot in the neck. They said the shooter had emptied one magazine and was reloading when they jumped him. Seems the shooter also had a knife and a handgun. Seems to be a lot of conflicting stories.
PHeller
PowerDork
8/22/15 12:03 p.m.
Super proud of these heros.
Here's a more straightforward article from a more reputable source than the Daily Fail:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/22/europe/france-train-shooting-heroes/index.html
petegossett wrote:
I'm seeing varying reports now...3 Americans, one airman, one civilian, and one army reserve. Stories stating the attacker wasn't a terrorist, he was "just" attempting a train heist, and happened to find the AK in a bag in a park somewhere...
yeah, i'm always finding AK's and 300 rounds of ammunition loaded into magazines just laying in parks.. it's really starting to get annoying, to be perfectly honest..
though the americans did the heavy lifting, it looks like everyone present had a pretty cool head in a sudden situation.
the frenchman was hurt trying to use the emergency train stop (break glass in case of), and one of the people who helped pin the man was a Brit while the Americans disarmed and beat the tar out of the guy.
So basically, Frenchman discovers treachery involving narcissistic nutjob; people in charge insulate themselves, leaving the rest for dead; Americans and British kick ass with Frenchman. It's like a mini-WWII.
84FSP
HalfDork
8/22/15 7:36 p.m.
Gotta love it when hate takes a beat down.
84FSP wrote:
Gotta love it when hate takes a beat down.
[cough]religion of peace[/cough]
Once again the french need saving by the Americans and some hang around Brits.
novaderrik wrote:
84FSP wrote:
Gotta love it when hate takes a beat down.
[cough]religion of peace[/cough]
Keep those thoughts to yourself.
[cough] reaping what you sowed during crusades [/cough]
We don't discuss religion anymore. Always a counterpoint when it comes to religion.
A little disappointed at the lack of "BULLET" TRAIN headlines this morning.
madmallard wrote:
the frenchman was hurt trying to use the emergency train stop (break glass in case of),
Not the best idea in an emergency. You are better off getting the train to a station where help can reach you easier than disable the train and make help find you.
Enyar
Dork
8/23/15 9:55 a.m.
Wally wrote:
A little disappointed at the lack of "BULLET" TRAIN headlines this morning.
madmallard wrote:
the frenchman was hurt trying to use the emergency train stop (break glass in case of),
Not the best idea in an emergency. You are better off getting the train to a station where help can reach you easier than disable the train and make help find you.
I can kinda agree with that but I also think that if I'm on a train that just had a thwarted terrorist attack....I want to get off ASAfreakingP in case of any planted bombs or other terrorists.
According to the NYT this morning, the WWII analogy gets even better. The first passenger to fling himself at the surprise attacker was French, who was quickly neutralized.