Belgium Steps Up Rail Security – U.S. Airman Being Treated at French Hospital

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government has stepped up rail security after a gunman who boarded a train in Brussels was subdued by passengers on the Paris-bound service.

After a meeting of the country's national security council Saturday, Prime Minister Charles Michel's office announced that mixed Franco-Belgian security patrols would be beefed up on the high-speed Thalys trains, which link major cities in the Netherlands and Belgium to Paris. Patrols and security checks will also be boosted at international rail stations, and more baggage checks will now be carried out.

Police have also been warned to be on alert at major events and public gatherings. Before the incident, Spanish authorities had warned Belgium about a suspect in the country with links to Islamic extremists. However, the suspect held in France has not been officially identified.

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PARIS (AP) — Spencer Stone, an American Air Force serviceman stabbed while tackling a gunman on a European train, has been transferred to a larger hospital in northern France.

The Pentagon has said Stone's injuries are not life-threatening.

Two officials at the hospital in the northern French city of Arras where Stone was initially treated said he was transferred Saturday to a larger hospital in Lille. They did not provide a reason for the move.

Stone's traveling companions say he intervened to immobilize the suspect, and the gunman stabbed Stone with a box-cutter. Stone then acted quickly to help reduce the bleeding of another wounded passenger, they said, praising his bravery.

Stone is stationed in the Azores and is from Carmichael, California, according to the stepmother of one of the Americans aboard.