A gunman who opened fire in a French high-speed train before passengers pounced on him said he only intended to conduct a robbery, not a terror act, his attorney said.
The suspect, identified as Moroccan national Ayoub El Khazzani, attacked passengers Friday aboard the train en route to Paris from Amsterdam.
Five passengers, including three Americans vacationing in Europe, charged at him and took away his assortment of weapons, authorities said.
He had a Kalashnikov assault weapon with nine magazines of ammunition, a Luger automatic pistol with extra ammo and a box cutter, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
‘His intentions were pretty clear’
The suspect said his attack had nothing to do with terrorism, and he planned to rob passengers on the Thalys train, his attorney Sophie David told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
David said her client told her he found the firearms in a public garden next to a train station in Brussels, Belgium.
With that kind of firepower, the suspect may have been planning a massacre, authorities said.
“The guy had a lot of ammo,” said Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman based in Oregon, one of the passengers who subdued him. “His intentions were pretty clear.”
‘He never said a word’
The passengers who tackled the gunman, including the three Americans, will be awarded the Legion of Honor on Monday — France’s highest recognition.
Americans Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos were aboard the train when they heard gunfire.
Along with two others — an unnamed French national and Briton Chris Norman — they charged at him and tackled him when he emerged in their train car shirtless, officials said.
“He never said a word,” Sadler said. ‘At that time, it was either do something or die.”
A fierce struggle ensued.
“He kept pulling more weapons left and right,” Stone said, his arm in a sling. “He seemed like he was ready to fight to the end. So were we.”
They grabbed the suspect, punched him, choked him and hit him with his own guns. They finally subdued him and tied him before the train pulled up in Arras, northern France.
The confrontation left Stone, who was the first to tackle him, with wounds in the head and neck, and his thumb nearly cut off.
The U.S. Air Force member was hospitalized for a day and released Saturday.
France’s highest honor
In addition to the Legion of Honor medal, which will be awarded by French President Francois Hollande, accolades have poured in from world leaders and citizens alike as more details emerged about the chaotic, bloody scene aboard the train.
“It is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy,” U.S. President Barack Obama said.
Spain, France knew about suspect
Spanish officials says the suspect’s family moved to Spain from Morocco in 2007.
He was linked to investigations into radical Islamist networks, a senior European counterterrorism official said. His DNA was on file with Spanish authorities, French media reported.
There are indications he traveled from Europe to Turkey between May and July, probably to try to join up with ISIS in Syria, a senior European counterterrorism official told CNN terror analyst Paul Cruickshank.
ISIS operatives are using Turkey as a base to redirect European extremists trying to travel to Syria to launch attacks back home, according to Cruickshank.
Link to ISIS fighters?
Investigators have yet to make a final determination on El Khazzani’s travel. It ‘s unclear whether he made it to Syria, the official said.
He was likely linked to ISIS fighters in Turkey who are believed to have directed an Algerian student to launch attacks in Paris, according to the official
It’s unclear what he did to attract the attention of the Spanish authorities. Spanish police alerted the French that he was preparing to travel to the latter country last year, Cazeneuve said
Beyond that, there appears to be disagreement between French and Spanish sources about who knew what and when.
The suspect is in custody undergoing interrogations.