'Let's go!' How hero American airman charged Kalashnikov-wielding terrorist on French train, tackled him and beat him unconscious with the help of his comrade in arms and a friend

• Train staff on board train which was the scene of a foiled terrorist attack accused of abandoning passengers
• A man named in reports as Ayoub el-Qahzzani opened fire on train which had more than 550 passengers on board 
•  He was arrested by police at a train station in Arras and was initially taken to hospital but is now in custody
• The 26-year-old Moroccan national is a suspected radical Islamist who was known to security services 
• Air Force airman Spencer Stone ran at the gunman when he opened fire on the high speed service to Paris 
• Was on the train with friend Oregon National Guard member Alek Skarlatos, 22, who was travelling through Europe
•  With the help of Anthony Sadler, from California, and British national Chris Norman, they stopped the attack
• Three people, including Stone, wounded in the attack and French police have hailed the bravery of the bystanders
• French media report the man denies being a terrorist and instead claims he wanted to carry out an armed robbery 
• Also claims he wanted to ransom off passengers and he found the weapons in a bag 'by chance in a Brussels Park'

By Mia De Graaf and Wills Robinson For Dailymail.com and Keiligh Baker and Darren Boyle for MailOnline and Nick Fagge In Paris, France For Mailonline

Published: 07:42 EST, 22 August 2015 | Updated: 16:38 EST, 22 August 2015

The US servicemen who tackled a Kalashnikov-wielding terrorist to the ground in a packed Paris-bound train have described the moment they leaped into action. 

Spencer Stone, an airman, was travelling with Oregon National Guard member Alek Skarlatos, 22, who was on leave after a tour of Afghanistan, and their Californian friend Anthony Sadler when he heard the gunman load his weapon in the toilet. 

'We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle,' Sadler said from France. They then saw a gunman entering the train car with an automatic rifle.

'As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, "Spencer, go!" And Spencer runs down the aisle,' Sadler continued. '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.' 

In another account, Skarlatos says he yelled 'let's go'. 

 As they beat the man - named in reports as Ayoub el-Qahzzani - he pleaded with them to return his AK-47, Sadler explained.

'He was just telling us to give back his gun. "Give me back my gun! Give me back my gun!" But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it.'

The men, along with fellow passenger British IT consultant Chris Norman, have since been commended for their bravery by President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande has tweeted that he will meet the men tomorrow to thank them. 

US airman Spencer Stone is wheeled out of the station bleeding from the head, neck and hand after getting stabbed during the ambush

Spencer Stone, of the U.S. Air Force, was traveling with Oregon National Guard member Alek Skarlatos, 22, (right) who was on leave after a tour of Afghanistan, when he heard the gunman load his weapon in the toilet. Skarlatos shouted 'let's go!' and they charged him down

Stone is pictured top left with his Air Force colleagues. His brave actions were applauded by French police and the White House 

 

(From left to right) Anthony Sadler, from Pittsburg, California, Alek Sharlatos from Roseburg, Oregon, and Chris Norman, a British man living in France thwarted the attacker while on the train. They are pictured with medals they received for bravery 

The 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, got on the train in Brussels and attempted his attack soon after crossing the French border. He was beaten unconscious by three men on board  

A police forensic officer walks along a platform next to the Thalys train which was the scene of a suspected terrorist attack yesterday

French forensic police officers wearing protective suits inspect the crime scene on bord the Thalys train following the incident

In a statement, Obama praised the 'courage and quick thinking' of the men. 

British passenger Chris Norman told French television that he helped tie the gunman up. Stone, who was stabbed in the neck and the hand - almost severing his thumb - then turned to help another passenger who had been cut in the throat.

'The president expressed his profound gratitude for the courage and quick thinking of several passengers, including US service members, who selflessly subdued the attacker,' a White House official said.

'While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy.

'We will remain in close contact with French authorities as the investigation proceeds,' the official added. 

Stone remains in a critical condition in hospital in France’s northern city Lille, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Meanwhile the US airman’s family are travelling to be at his bedside as he recovers from the ‘significant injuries’ he sustained while thwarting gunman Ayoub El-Qahzzani’s attempt to cause carnage on the Amsterdam to Paris express.

US embassy officials from Paris have visited Mr Stone in hospital. But doctors say it is too early for his friends – Oregon National Guard Alek Skarlatos and student Anthony Sadler - to visit.

The US airman suffered ‘multiple lacerations’ when El-Qahzzani lashed out with a ‘box cutter’ [Stanley knife] as Mr Stone attempted to disarm him.

A spokeswoman for Lille Regional University Hospital told MailOnline: ‘Mr Stone remains in a critical condition recovering from the significant injuries he sustained [in the train attack].

‘His family are on their way to be with him and help him with his recovery but they are not here yet.

‘He has been visited by officials from the American Embassy in Paris.’ 

As details emerge of the foiled terrorist attack, staff on board the high speed train have come under fire for allegedly barricading themselves in their staff room and locking the door, leaving passengers to fend for themselves. 

French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was on board the Thalys train during the attack has slammed train staff who he claims locked themselves in an office away from the attacker and refused to help the trapped passengers.

The actor told Paris Match: 'We heard screaming passengers in English, 'He shoots! He shoots! He has a Kalashnikov!''

The actor, who was travelling with his two children and his girlfriend, said: 'Suddenly, members of the crew ran into the hallway and their faces were pale.'

He said the staff hurried towards their own car on the train and opened it 'with a special key' before they locked themselves inside.

Mr Anglade claims he and other passengers banged on the door and shouted at staff to open up, but their cries for help were ignored.

He said: 'Nobody replied, there was radio silence. It was terrible and unbearable, it was inhumane.

'The minutes seemed like hours and protected my children with my whole body, telling them everything was fine.' 

The French Interior Minister said this afternoon that the train attacker is suspected to be a radical Islamist. 

Meanwhile British Prime Minister David Cameron has also praised the four men for their actions. 

A No 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister praised the extraordinary courage of the passengers who intervened and helped disarm the gunman, including the British consultant Chris Norman.

'The bravery of Mr Norman and the other passengers helped to prevent a terrible incident.'

Video footage of the aftermath has emerged, showing what appears to be the gunman lying on the floor (right) with his hands and feet tied up with t-shirts. A man (left) is seen on the ground with a head injury

The camera then pans around to the machine gun resting on a seat surrounded by blood stains on the windows

Video footage of the aftermath has emerged, showing what appears to be the gunman lying on the floor, moaning with pain, with his hands and feet tied up with t-shirts after he was beaten unconscious. 

The camera then pans around to the Kalashnikov resting on a seat surrounded by blood stains on the windows.

The 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, got on the train in Brussels and attempted his attack soon after crossing the French border.

Reuters reports the man had also been under French police surveillance after foreign security services identified him as dangerous. 

French newspaper La Voix du Nord said Spanish authorities had pointed out the man to French police. It was not immediately clear whether he was still under surveillance at the time of Friday's attack. 

He came out of the toilet brandishing the gun and opened fire, wounding two people on board. Fortunately, the hero passengers were nearby and overpowered him.

According to witnesses he was carrying a short-stocked Kalashnikov assault rifle, at least five magazines of ammunition, a handgun and knives, according to witnesses. 

The terrorist, named in reports as Ayoub el-Qahzzani, had at least nine full magazines of ammunition holding almost 300 rounds. He was arrested by police at a train station in Arras and taken to hospital where he is now in custody.  

Meanwhile French media site BFMTV are reporting that the man denies being a terrorist and instead claims he wanted to carry out an armed robbery and ransom train passengers.

He also claims he found the weapons in a bag 'by chance in a Brussels Park'.

Skarlatos described Stone's heroic actions to ITV News in the aftermath of the attack. 

'Spencer ran a good ten metres to get to the guy and we didn't that his gun not working or anything like that,' he said. '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.'

He added that he was in 'good spirits' in hospital, but was still shocked by what unfolded.  

Pentagon spokesman Commander William Urban confirmed that one member of American military had been injured, but declined to formally identify him.  

It has been reported by French media that a French passenger also attempted to subdue the man, who can remain in police custody for questioning for up to 96 hours. 

BFMTV reports he was transferred early this morning to the headquarters of SDAT (Sub-Directorate Anti-Terrorist).

The suspected gunman, a 26-year-old Moroccan, was held on the platform of the station in Arras in France so police could arrive and detain him

A wounded passenger lies on the floor on the train - the man has not yet been identified 

French police sealed off the train after the gunman was arrested. He was disarmed by the servicemen after he began shooting

French police recovered at least nine magazines full of ammunition from the suspect's backpack, containing almost 300 rounds

Maj. Stephen Bomar, an Oregon Military Departments spokesman confirmed Friday evening that one of the Americans is a member of the Oregon National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat team but declined to name him.

However Skarlatos was identified by his stepmother.

Bomar told The Oregonian: 'It's fantastic that no matter who it was, someone stepped up to stop such a horrific event. We're absolutely proud that it happened to be someone from the Oregon Army National Guard.

El Pais claimed that the terror suspect had recently been in Syria before returning to Europe to launch his attack.  

It is understood that the gunman boarded the train, which had more than 550 passengers on board, in Brussels and made his move as soon as it crossed into France. 

French media claim that the suspect was previously known to French security services and was living in Spain. He has already been linked to a number of radical Islamic groups. He was classed, according to FranceInfo.fr as 'potentially dangerous'.   

Speaking in Arras, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the Marines for their timely intervention. 

He said: 'Thanks to them we have averted a drama.

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

The man was arrested by police near the town of Arras in northern France. 

Belgian journalist Marin Buxant Tweeted that the US Marines were on leave in Brussels when they spotted the man and followed him on the train. When the suspect went into the toilet, the Marines recognised the sound of a weapon being armed and decided to act immediately.  

One of the gunman's victims was rushed to hospital after the train arrived in Arras, northern France, after the attempted massacre

French officials have so far refused to confirm whether the attack was a terror related incident claiming it is 'too early' in the investigation

Train company Thalys confirmed the incident happened. A spokesman said: 'The situation is under control, the travellers are safe. The train stopped and the emergency services are on site.'

No one at the SNCF French railways was immediately available to comment on the report.  

The motives behind the attack were not immediately known, although a spokesman for the interior minister said: 'It is too early to speak of a terrorist link'.

The incident happened approximately 115 miles north of Paris near the town of Arras. 

Engineer Laurent Duquesne said he followed a woman who was looking for help with her husband when he saw the carnage. 

He told The Telegraph: 'I went into the compartment and saw a man with what seemed to be a bullet wound in the neck, with another man trying to staunch the bleeding. he himself was wounded in the hand, possibly with a knife. They had tied up the gunmen and he was lying face down on the floor of the compartment with his hands tied behind his back.'

The gunman was arrested after the train pulled into the station in the northern French town of Arras, the SNCF spokesman told AFP. 

The French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who appeared in the 1986 cult film 'Betty Blue' starring Beatrice Dalle, was lightly injured. It is understood he cut his hand while breaking the glass on the emergency alarm. 

The actor told Paris Match: 'The gunman came to us, he was determined. I thought it was the end, we were going to die, he was going to kill us all.'

He also thanked the men who bravely tackled the assailant. 

He added: 'I want to pay tribute to their heroic courage and thank them, without them we'd all be dead.' 

The Telegraph reports the mayor of Arras, Frederic Leturque, said a French man was hit in the neck. He said: 'He's in hospital in Lille and his injuries are not life-threatening, as far as I know. He was conscious and I spoke to him.

'I gave medals during the night to several of the passengers who acted with such bravery in the train, including the British man, who lives in France.' 

A forensic specialist examines the scene of the incident which happened about 115 miles north of Paris outside the town of Arras

Three people were injured, two of them seriously, after the gunman opened fire on Friday afternoon on the Amsterdam-Paris train. One of them, Spencer Stone, was slashed with a box cutter during the confrontation 

French police said that the suspect was a 26-year-old Moroccan national and was known to security services

French authorities are currently investigating the motive behind today's shooting which left three injured 

France has been an a state of high alert since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January 2015 in Paris 

Anglade also played the hard-nosed cop Eddy Caplan in the gritty French crime drama Braquo.  

Thalys said on its website that several trains had been delayed after the 'intervention of security forces at Arras station'.

'The train is at the station and emergency services are at the scene,' said Thalys, which is jointly owned by the national rail companies of Belgium, France and Germany.

France remains on edge after Islamic extremists attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January.

In June, a man beheaded his boss and tried to blow up a gas plant in southern France in what prosecutors say was an attack inspired by ISIS. 

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of reports of shots being fired on a train in France.

'We are aware of reports that shots were fired on a train in France earlier today. The French authorities have responded. There are no reports that British nationals have been injured.'

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said: 'A man opened fire on this Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris, one person was very seriously injured. Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment.'

Francois Hollande, the French president, has said: 'I express my solidarity with the wounded from the attack on the train from Amsterdam to Paris. Everything is being done to shed light on this tragedy.'

Emergency services greeted the train as it arrived in Arras to help with distressed passengers who witnessed the attempted atrocity

French anti-terror police are leading the investigation into the 26-year-old gunman who boarded the train in Brussels

The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with French authorities but confirmed no Britons were hurt during the incident

French President Francois Hollande said he wanted to express solidarity with those injured in Friday's attack

French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, (standing) played hardman cop Eddy Caplan in gritty crime drama Braquo was 'slightly injured' 

Travellers get on the Thalys train to Paris at Amsterdam Central Station, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 22 August 2015, a day after a gunman opened fire on a Thalys train travelling from Amsterdam. EPA/REMKO DE WAAL

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