Train gunman thwarted by Americans had ‘terrorist intent,’ French prosecutor

A French prosecutor on Tuesday said the suspected train attacker Ayoub El Khazzanni, whose attempted shooting rampage on a train from Amsterdam to Paris was thwarted by three Americans and a Briton, had “terrorist intent.”

The prosecutor, Francois Molins, said the evidence shows that on Friday, Mr. El Khazzani, a 25-year-old Moroccan, was “attempting to kill a whole train full of people,” CNN reported.

Mr. El Khazzani’s Internet use showed “clear evidence of terrorist intent” a French official said.

Mr. Molins added that Mr. El Khazzani had watched a jihadi video on YouTube.

“When we looked at his mobile phone, and he’d said originally that he didn’t have a mobile phone, we were able to see … that in fact it was specifically dedicated to this project,” Mr. Molins said, Sky News reported.

Mr. El Khazzani’s plot was foiled when three Americans — two of them U.S. military personnel — and a Briton tackled him after hearing him loading his Kalashnikov inside the bathroom of the high-speed train.

Mr. El Khazzani, who was also armed with several knives, was detained in the French town of Arras where the train was stopped after the incident.

Two people were wounded in the struggle. A French-American was struck by a bullet and Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone — one of the Americans who intervened — was stabbed in the neck and hand with a box cutter.