PARIS -- The Moroccan suspect in a foiled attack on a high-speed train in France is facing terrorism charges over what authorities say was a plan to unleash carnage among hundreds of passengers -- but his family defended him Wednesday, saying he was in a desperate situation.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed Wednesday that Ayoub El-Khazzani was charged overnight. El-Khazzani, 26, was overpowered by at least five passengers, including three Americans and a Briton, after trying to attack the train with a small arsenal. Mark Moogalian, a French-American who tried to seize an assault rifle from him, is hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
El-Khazzani has denied having terrorism plans, saying he stumbled on a bag of weapons and decided to use them to rob passengers.
His older brother, Imran, reached by French radio network RMC, also said the younger man had no links with terrorism.
"I swear to you before God that my brother has nothing to do with a terrorist. We are Muslims. We respect people," the brother said. "He could have gone crazy. His life was without a doubt difficult. He didn't have much money."
His father, Mohamed, said Ayoub's job in France ended after about a month and a half and he believed his son acted out of a need for money.
"If he had nothing to eat, he doubtless wanted to commit a theft," his father told BFM television network.
But Paris prosecutor Francois Molins has said Ayoub El-Khazzani watched a jihadist video on his cellphone moments before the attack and that -- although he claimed to be homeless -- he bought a first-class ticket. Molins said the suspect's explanations became increasingly incoherent until he stopped speaking altogether to investigators.
Among the terrorism charges he faces are multiple counts of attempted murder, possession of weapons, and conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Moogalian, the injured passenger, gave his account of the event in an interview from his hospital bed published Wednesday in Paris Match magazine.
"I saw a young guy who looked strange, dragging a big, wheeled suitcase. It was unusual, strange," Moogalian said.
Noticing that the man seemed to be spending an unusually long time in the toilet, Moogalian went to investigate.
"I saw him come out of the toilet and another guy, who looked young, had grabbed him from behind and was trying to control him," Moogalian said in the magazine interview.
Telling his wife to get to safety, Moogalian rushed at the gunman and wrenched an AKM assault rifle from his grip.
"I've got the weapon!" he yelled, and just then a shot rang out.
"I felt a giant pain in the back. I fell down between the seats. I dropped the weapon as I fell. I didn't know he had a handgun," Moogalian said.
The 51-year-old musician and teacher, who has lived in France for more than two decades, was seated across from his wife in Wagon 12 on the high-speed train that had pulled out of Amsterdam's main station just over two hours earlier.
His wife, Isabelle Risacher Moogalian, told Europe-1 radio on Tuesday that "when my husband collapsed, I saw across the seats. He looked at me and he said 'I'm hit, I'm hit.' He thought it was over and he was going to die." The bullet struck him in the back and exited through the neck.
Speaking on France 2 television, Risacher Moogalian also heaped praise on Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, one of the three Americans who helped subdue the attacker.
As Stone administered first aid to her husband even while bleeding profusely from his own wounds, he "spoke to him like it was his friend," she said. "'Hey man, after this we're going to go have a beer. Where are you from? Virginia? I'm from California, don't worry it's going to be fine.'"
Moogalian remained hospitalized Wednesday in the northern city of Lille, and his sister said his role in stopping the attack was in character.
"Mark is one of the most compassionate people I've ever known. He's a free spirit. When he sets his mind on what he wants to do, he just does it," his sister, Jacqueline Moogalian-Pittman, said from Austell, Ga.
Moogalian will receive the Legion of Honor, as did Stone, U.S. Army Spc. Alek Skarlatos, their friend Anthony Sadler and British businessman Chris Norman.
Information for this article was contributed by Greg Keller, Lori Hinnant, Johnny Clark and staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/27/2015