House to probe rail security after Paris attack

A pair of House committees is planning to hold a hearing on U.S. rail security after a thwarted attack by a heavily armed gunman on a high-speed train in Europe.

The House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittees on transportation security and intelligence and counterterrorism will meet Thursday to discuss protections for U.S. train passengers after three Americans stopped a gunman and saved hundreds of passengers on a train from Amsterdam to Paris.

The hearing comes after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials boosted screenings on U.S. railways in response to the attack.

{mosads}Officials with the committees said the hearing will allow lawmakers to “receive an update on the state of rail and mass transit security, identify where progress has been made since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and assess remaining shortfalls.” 

The U.S. residents who thwarted the Paris attack were vacationing in Europe when they encountered the gunman on a train.

The suspect, Moroccan citizen Ayoub El Khazzani, 26, had just fired upon a passenger and was attempting to use his AK-47.

The incident prompted lawmakers to call for the TSA to boost its presence on U.S. railways, which the agency did just before Labor Day.