WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Spencer Stone was knifed as he tackled the gunman

A serving member of the US Air Force has been hailed as a hero after he was knifed in the neck while disarming a terrorist on a train to Paris.

Spencer Stone was travelling on a train from Amsterdam with childhood friends Alek Skarlatos and student Anthony Sadler.

But when the gunman rushed into their carriage, both Mr Stone and Mr Skarlatos, who is in the National Guard, charged at him, knocking him to the floor.


Mr Stone was slashed behind his neck in the resulting melee – and his finger was nearly sliced off as the man was wrestled to the ground by the pair – alongside student Anthony Sadler.



In video footage which appears to show the aftermath of the incident, the gunman can be seen lying on the floor with his hands and feed bound with t-shirts after being beaten unconscious by the group .

And as the camera pans around, the man’s Kalashnikov rifle can be seen lying on a nearby table.

The gunman, believed to have been known to authorities, has been named in reports as Moroccan national Ayoub el-Qahzanni – and has since been taken to hospital where he is in custody after being arrested.

The suspect lies on the on floor in the Amsterdam to Paris Thalys high-speed train where shots were fired and several people were injured (Picture: Reuters)

Recalling the dramatic act of bravery, Anthony Sadler said: ‘We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle.

‘They saw a gunman entering the train car with an automatic rifle.’

He added: ‘As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, “Spencer, go!” And Spencer runs down the aisle’.

Anthony Sadler, from Pittsburg, California, Alek Skarlatos from Roseburg, Oregon, and British national Chris Norman were also responsible for bravely tackling the gunman (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

‘Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.’

‘The gunman never said a word’.

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Speaking to ITV News, Alex Skarlatos added: ‘Spencer ran a good ten metres to get to the guy and we didn’t that his gun not working or anything like that.

‘Spencer just ran anyway and if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been Spencer for sure and we’re very lucky that nobody got killed, especially Spencer.’

Praising the group’s actions, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazenueve said: ‘Thanks to them we have averted a drama.

‘(The Americans were) particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances.’