BIG SANDY, Texas – In a terror scene reminiscent of Sept. 11, an armed man threatening to kill Americans aboard an Amtrak train had to be subdued by passengers.
“All Americans will die!” suspect Gerardo Bedia was quoted as shouting, along with a host of obscenities before being overpowered by fellow travelers Sunday.
According to Big Sandy police, the man spoke English, Spanish and “some kind of Middle Eastern language.”
Chief Ronnie Norman said the weapon – a black, all-plastic polymer folding knife – is typically used to defeat metal detectors, the Longview News-Journal reported.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Norman told the paper. “The passengers did a fantastic job of restraining him.”
Henry Hanks wonders why this story isn’t getting more attention. Beats me — I just looked for the would-be killer’s name on the AP search engine and found nothing.
UPDATE: Here’s another report, courtesy of reader Chris Lawrence.