Terror train hero airman ‘knocked out attacker after being stabbed three times’

A US airman hailed as a hero after he stopped a gunman on a French train knocked out one of his attackers after he was repeatedly stabbed in a drunken nightclub brawl. Spencer Stone, who was in intensive care after undergoing surgery for an apparent punctured lung following the fight in Sacramento, California, was fighting three men, a witness said. Cab driver Kennedy Hailermariam added: “When I got the green light, I was (able) to go. The fight was over. It was real quick. (Stone) knocked out one guy, after he got stabbed like three or four times.”

My thoughts and prayers go out to Spencer Stone and the Stone family. I ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy at this time.

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson

Police who first arrived at the scene outside Badlands dance club on Thursday feared the airman would not survive his injuries and prepared to launch a murder inquiry. But Mr Stone, 23, was treated at the UC Davis Medical Center for three stab wounds to his torso and was expected to make a full recovery. As CCTV footage of the brawl emerged, Mr Hailermariam also claimed a 24-year-old woman was injured after she tried to protect Mr Stone after he had been stabbed. "She got a big hit. She got one big punch,“ he added. Police said the incident was drink-related and not linked to the incident in August, when Mr Stone and his friends, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, subdued heavily armed gunman Ayoub El Khazzani on a train heading from Amsterdam to Paris.

This incident is a very unfortunate altercation between two groups of folks enjoying the nightlife in Midtown. It is not related to terrorism in any way.

Sacramento Deputy Police Chief Ken Bernard

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