Merged US Soldiers Stop Terrorist Attack In Belgium /Bad guy with guns stopped by good guys

Heroes for sure. I'd like to think I'd do the same but there's always the chance that I'd opt for remaining in my seat whilst pissing my pants.
 
arthwollipot said:
Yeah, but guns make it easier to kill a lot of people in a short time. That's why you don't hear much about someone going on a killing rampage with a garrotte.
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Absolutely true. Nor do you hear about troops being issued with the following, instead of firearms.

spear, crossbow, knife (real, not regular table knife),brass knuckles, garrotte, hammer, yellow silk long scarf - especially with largish knot in center​
Spears and crossbows were once standard, but they have been replaced by guns. Hell, even flintlocks must have been better than spears and crossbows, because that's what replaced the spears, and mere matchlocks replaced the crossbows.
 
rwguinn said:
Train crew entered a private cabin and locked it...
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It will be interesting to find out - for I'm sure a commission of inquiry will consider this - what general instructions the crew have received about what to do in cases of this kind. Perhaps Thalys has instructed them to do what they appear in fact to have done.

If so, I hope they are asked to explain why.
 
Craig B said:
It will be interesting to find out - for I'm sure a commission of inquiry will consider this - what general instructions the crew have received about what to do in cases of this kind. Perhaps Thalys has instructed them to do what they appear in fact to have done.

If so, I hope they are asked to explain why.
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[speculation]The train might be able to be controlled remotely. If so then having the crew inaccessible means a hijacker would have no way to determine the final stopping point of the train. I'd stop it in an urban environment and get the people out of the adjacent buildings and put sniper teams in them. [/speculation]
 
ddt said:
It was obviously moving. They hauled it back to Compiègne for the reenactment. :)
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Gawdzilla Sama said:
[speculation]The train might be able to be controlled remotely. If so then having the crew inaccessible means a hijacker would have no way to determine the final stopping point of the train. I'd stop it in an urban environment and get the people out of the adjacent buildings and put sniper teams in them. [/speculation]
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I think, or hope, it may be something like that. Perhaps in addition to the staff who sought refuge, there are other members of the train crew with different instructions; but the existence and duties of these are not made known to the public.

I have seen inspectors on a crowded Paris tram, disguised in civilian clothes. They suddenly halted the vehicle between stops (the doors remaining closed), produced badges and asked politely for "transport titles". If these were not at once produced - and many passengers were not in possession of them - all sorts of forms had to be filled in.

If that can be done to inspect tickets, perhaps the same thing happens in more serious cases.
 
Craig B said:
I think, or hope, it may be something like that. Perhaps in addition to the staff who sought refuge, there are other members of the train crew with different instructions; but the existence and duties of these are not made known to the public.
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Do we know if that was the whole crew, the engineers, the porters and/or wait staff, who?
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
Do we know if that was the whole crew, the engineers, the porters and/or wait staff, who?
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The ones the passengers would be aware of would presumably be the cabin stewards, and ticket inspectors if any of them were circulating at the time.

But if the gunman was detected by the U.S. passengers as soon as he had cocked his gun, and then speedily neutralised, other members of the crew might not yet have been aware of the incident by the time he was overpowered.
 
Craig B said:
The ones the passengers would be aware of would presumably be the cabin stewards, and ticket inspectors if any of them were circulating at the time.

But if the gunman was detected by the U.S. passengers as soon as he had cocked his gun, and then speedily neutralised, other members of the crew might not yet have been aware of the incident by the time he was overpowered.
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The immediately adjacent crew would have known there was a problem during the struggle? They then proceeded to get into their pied-à-terre while it was going on?
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
The immediately adjacent crew would have known there was a problem during the struggle? They then proceeded to get into their pied-à-terre while it was going on?
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That's the bit that needs explaining. Is there an instruction to that effect, and is it intended to clear the way for the intervention of other operatives while preventing staff on the spot from being taken hostage, or held as human shields?

Or is the idea simply to abandon the passengers to the mercy of gunmen.
I hope not that; but I think we will find out sooner or later.
 
It's clear a lot of the details need to come out. I see from the BBC report that a French passenger, an American passenger, and two American servicemen (USAF and National Guard) were the first to subdue the shooter. No Marines, although I'm sure that's only because they weren't there.

So I'm not sure how to weigh one passenger's observation of train crewmen locking themselves into a private compartment.
 
Craig B said:
It will be interesting to find out - for I'm sure a commission of inquiry will consider this - what general instructions the crew have received about what to do in cases of this kind. Perhaps Thalys has instructed them to do what they appear in fact to have done.

If so, I hope they are asked to explain why.
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Thalys is the name of the train, the company is the SNCF.
The crew on a Thalys train is rather small, the driver is in a cabin at the head with no access to the passengers cars, and there are at most half a dozen people checking the passengers tickets or employed at the bar/restaurant.

From what I read in the French press, it appears that no crew member was present at the location of the attack, and some passengers used the alarm signal.

The three American servicemen and the English gentlemen were awarded a honor medal by the mayor of Arras, and I'm sure they won't have to pay for many meals and drinks while in France :thumbsup:
 
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