Parade in Sacramento honors three Americans who stopped train attack
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson promised a parade “fit for some kings” last month for three Americans who thwarted an attack on a train in France.
Making good on that promise, the city is preparing to honor the three longtime friends, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, in a ceremony and parade at noon Friday.
Hundreds are expected to gather at the Capitol Mall for the Hometown Heroes Parade to recognize “the bravery of these young men,” the city said. The parade will start at 3rd Street and conclude with a celebration on the steps of the state Capitol. The ceremony will include a commemoration for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone, who grew up in Sacramento and have been friends since middle school, have gained worldwide attention for their heroic efforts. After the attack, they received France’s highest honor, the Legion d’honneur.
Skarlatos will be part of the cast of the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars.” Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel gave Stone a new Chevy Camaro. Sadler, a student at Sacramento State, appeared on “The Tonight Show.”
Their fame came after they wrestled a gunman to the floor as their high-speed train zipped through the French countryside.
The friends were on a European trip, which they took before Stone, an Air Force paramedic, is reassigned from Europe at the end of the year.
Sadler, Stone and Skarlatos, a rifleman with the National Guard, met up in Amsterdam and got on the Paris-bound train Aug. 21.
On the train, the friends heard a gunshot and saw a man brandishing a weapon. Stone and Skarlatos ran toward the gunman, who tried to fire at them, but the gun jammed.
Stone grabbed the gunman by the neck as Skarlatos wrestled one of the guns away.
The gunman pulled out a box cutter and attacked Stone, who suffered a number of cuts, including one that nearly severed his thumb.
Sadler and a British businessman, Chris Norman, pummeled the gunman and helped hogtie him on the floor of the train.
French authorities later identified the gunman as Ayoub El Khazzani, 25, a Moroccan national, and said he had ties to Islamist terrorist organizations.
For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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