Two Northern California men are being hailed as heroes for their role in thwarting a gunman on a train in France.

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Anthony Sadler—a Pittsburg native and Sac State student—and his friends Spencer Stone of Sacramento and Alek Skarlatos of Roseburg, Oregon all helped to subdue a gunman who opened fire in a train en route from Amsterdam to Paris. A British man, Chris Norman, also helped to rush the gunman and hold him down until he could be taken into custody by authorities.

Sadler was on vacation with his childhood friends Stone and Skarlatos when the man only identified as a 26-year old Moroccan man began his attack on the train, according to SFGate. The gunman opened fire around 5:45 p.m., local time, when the train was near the French town Arras. One round struck a victim believed to be a man of dual French and American citizenship. "We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle," Sadler explained.

Stone was the first to tackle the attacker, and wound up getting slashed with a box cutter. Sadler, Skarlatos and Norman then rushed the attacker, knocked the handgun out of his hand and beat him unconscious and tied him up. The attacker also had an AK-47 which he never fired. "The gunman never said a word," said Sadler.

Warning: bloody video


Stone wound up slashed in the neck and hand, but the injuries were not considered life threatening. He also tended to a man who was wounded in the throat and losing a large amount of blood. "That guy owes Spencer his life too," Sadler told the AP. "He was bleeding everywhere."

Stone is a member of the Air Force and Skarlatos is a National Guardsman—both were on leave at the time of the attack. "These men are heroes. Actions like this clearly illustrate the courage and commitment our young men and women have all the time," said U.S. European Command Commander General Philip M. Breedlove. Norman, the British man, said his survival instincts just kicked in. "My thought was, 'OK, I'm probably going to die anyway, so let's go,"' he said according to NBC. "I'd rather die getting active."

President Obama called the men on Saturday, and French President Francoise Hollande is scheduled to meet with the men, according to BBC. The mayor of Arras presented the men with medals for their bravery.

The gunman has not been identified by authorities, but he was reportedly flagged by Spanish authorities last year for ties to Islamic radicals.

"I'm just a college student," Sadler, who is a senior and studies physical therapy at Sac State, told Reuters. "It's my last year in college. I came to see my friends on my first trip in Europe and we stopped a terrorist. It's kind of crazy."

Airman Spencer Stone (of Sacramento), who was wounded in the attack (via USAF)