News France train shooting - Men overpower gunman

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Americans Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos and Briton Chris Norman tell of what they did - a third American, Spencer Stone, was hospitalised.
 
European media coverage: "We applaud the courage of the men who subdued the alleged terrorist and hope the injured persons have a speedy recovery."

American media coverage (especially Fox News): "If only one of the Americans had a gun, the whole thing would have lasted a minute and the world would have one less terrorist. They should allow guns on European trains so the good guy with a gun can stop the bad guy with a gun."
 
^ OMG.:fp:

It takes a lot to impress me as I usually find humans to be self serving (myself included) but I think these men were so incredibly courageous. :master: They probably saved a lot of lives with their bravery.
 
Actually, after reading elsewhere in the internet, it's my understanding that there are no metal detectors and no weapons checks for French trains? How is this possible given the risk of terrorist acts in France and elsewhere in Europe?
 
well that would take a long time processing, and a lot of people probably carry some metal, like coins, anyway.

why bother anyway..? They would go and shoot up a supermarket or something else anyway.
 
I don't think it would be workable for people to be checked at train stations. My husband works for London Underground and sometimes there aren't any staff at underground train stations at all.
 
Two of the Americans were ex-military, like I guessed. The first thing in military training is of course disarmament.

@Amysf , sometimes your comments against Americans really puzzle me.

All those involved were very brave--and thank goodness those AK47s jam up so easily. Apparently they make good clubs though. [emoji33]
 
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Not sure about the details on Spencer Stone aside from what the article says, but Alek Skarlatos was on ING status, which basically means he's still in the National Guard, but has put his service temporarily on hold. In ING you can still get called up in the event of an emergency or deployment but don't have to show up for drill every month. This is common for people who might, for example, take a year off to study overseas or go on an extended vacation or something.
 
Also, though I'm sure it's probably not incredibly relevant to those who aren't gun nuts (or to news agencies who pretty much view all guns as either an AR-15, an AK-47, or a Glock), but the gun used was an AK-74u. The 47 is the one everyone knows about, and one of the most common semi autos in the world. The 74 is a model produced more recently by Russia, and is more common as a modern military issue. Several countries in Europe issue variants of this as a service rifle, the 74u being one of those variants.
 
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The British man was calling the gun a kalashnikov, I wouldn't know one gun from another.:D

Spencer Stone was the one who rushed the man and he is a paramedic in the US Air Force.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...in-attack-US-soldiers-foil-massacre-live.html

The gunman continued on into the next carriage, when Alek Skarlatos looked up and saw him. He turned to Spencer Stone, and said something along the lines of, "let's get him". Mr Stone charged the gunman from a distance of about 10 meters and tackled him, as the man slashed him with a box cutter.

The spineless coward shot one person and then moved into the next carriage where Alek and Spencer were, I bet he regrets that now, hahaha. He picked the wrong carriage to attack.:dance:
 
The British man was calling the gun a kalashnikov, I wouldn't know one gun from another.:D

Spencer Stone was the one who rushed the man and he is a paramedic in the US Air Force.

S_STONE01_3415806b_zpsaxe6lft4.jpg


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...in-attack-US-soldiers-foil-massacre-live.html

The gunman continued on into the next carriage, when Alek Skarlatos looked up and saw him. He turned to Spencer Stone, and said something along the lines of, "let's get him". Mr Stone charged the gunman from a distance of about 10 meters and tackled him, as the man slashed him with a box cutter.

The spineless coward shot one person and then moved into the next carriage where Alek and Spencer were, I bet he regrets that now, hahaha. He picked the wrong carriage to attack.:dance:

Yes, he wasn't counting on the bravery of US forces. He must have forgotten his history lessons !

Apparently, according to his lawyer when the police told him that he was a suspect to Isis links, he looked highly amused. He denies having any links with terrorist groups and says he found the guns in a suitcase in a Belgium park !!!!!
 
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It says there that one French newspaper thinks he was part of the same jihadist group which attacked on Belgian anti-terrorist police in a violent fire-fight in January 2015.
 
It says there that one French newspaper thinks he was part of the same jihadist group which attacked on Belgian anti-terrorist police in a violent fire-fight in January 2015.

It is very scary when you learn about all the jihadist and Isis attacks on the French territory that have occurred during the last year. The French police seem lenient to many criminals and people that have petty offences.
 
American media coverage (especially Fox News): "If only one of the Americans had a gun, the whole thing would have lasted a minute and the world would have one less terrorist. They should allow guns on European trains so the good guy with a gun can stop the bad guy with a gun."

I applaud the brave Americans for stopping a massacre, but am at a loss of words (happens seldom) on the stupidity of (some part of the) American media covering it.

Basically they are saying, it was not enough that the terror attack was foiled, we would like to have seen dead people. And if they want Americans to carry weapons on European trains, I bet they would love to have French, Germans, Egyptians, Turks and whoever in the US running around toting weapons...
 
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Apparently he has told police officiers that he had no intention of killing anyone but just wanted to rob the passengers !

It seems like he is a bit of a nut job and underestimates a lot of people.
 
The British man was calling the gun a kalashnikov, I wouldn't know one gun from another.

The two are similar in appearance, and both can be technically referred to as a Kalishnikov in reference to their manufacturer. In general usage, it's usually in reference to a 47. I'll bet half the soldiers in my unit wouldn't know the difference at a glance either, even some of the ones who own an AK-47, and it isn't really relevant to the story. The part it makes interesting is the conversation as to where he got the gun. An AK-47 is pretty easy to come by pretty much anywhere in the world regardless of relevant gun laws if you're willing to pay for it. The biggest problem is trying to tell the real ones from the knockoffs, hence their conflicting reputations for being both extremely reliable as well as complete pieces of **** :p. In Pakistan they make AK-47 knockoffs in basements using basic shop tools. The AK-74u, on the other hand, is an indicator of Russian or European military corruption somewhere in the puzzle. Beyond the scope of what most people care about, but interesting to gun nerds like me :)
 
It only gets better. According to his lawyer, he was planning to rob the passengers so that he would buy food and than shoot a window and jump out of the high speed train.:rolleyes: