Terror on the railway: Shooting on Amsterdam-Paris train injures two
A police officer stands by as a passenger receives medical attention in Arras, northern France, after being injured on August 21, 2015 when a gunman opened fire on a train. PHOTO: AFP
A heavily armed man opened fire on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday, injuring at least two people before being overpowered by passengers.
The motives behind the attack were not immediately known, although a spokesman for the interior minister said: "It is too early to speak of a terrorist link".
A spokesman for the French state rail company SNCF said that the assailant was armed with guns and knives but gave no further details about the attack. The spokesman had said earlier that three people were injured, two of them seriously, and that at least one suffered gunshot wounds. An American and a Briton were reportedly among those injured.
The gunman was arrested after the train pulled into the station in Arras. "The passengers are safe, the situation has been brought under control," train operator Thalys said on Twitter.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was heading to Arras in the wake of the incident, which occurred shortly after 6pm, his ministry said.
A French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade was lightly injured, a witness said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2015.