Spencer Stone: US airman who helped foil terror attack on French train survives stabbing in Sacramento

The 23-year-old was stabbed in the chest four times on a street corner shortly before 1am on Thursday, sustaining such serious injuries that police initially treated the incident as a homicide

US Airman Spencer Stone shakes hands with French President Francois Hollande outside the Elysee Palace after he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for subduing a gunman on a Paris-bound train in August (AP)

Less than two months after he was injured while helping to foil a terror attack on a French train, US airman Spencer Stone has been stabbed during a late-night altercation in California.

Police said Mr Stone, 23, was stabbed in the torso four times at a street corner in Sacramento shortly before 1am on Thursday, suffering wounds to the heart and lung. So serious were his injuries that the incident was initially investigated as a homicide, but Mr Stone is now in serious but stable condition at the city’s UC Davis Medical Centre.

The 6’4” airman was socialising with a group of one male and three female friends when the stabbing took place. Police are hunting two men who fled the scene in a dark-coloured Toyota Camry. “The assault incident is not related to a terrorist act,” Sacramento police said on Twitter. “Assault occurred near a bar; alcohol is believed to be a factor.”

Mr Stone is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, some 40 miles from Sacramento. He reportedly left the Badlands nightclub in the city’s midtown neighbourhood shortly before the incident. The stabbing was the result of “a very unfortunate altercation between two groups of folks who were enjoying the nightlife,” Deputy Police Chief Ken Bernard said at a press conference.

Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler were given heroes' welcomes upon their return to Sacramento (Reuters)

Bryan Romandia, an employee at a nearby off-licence, told the Sacramento Bee he had seen the store’s CCTV footage of the incident, which appeared to show Mr Stone taking on six assailants single-handed. “It looks like it is one against six, but you can’t really tell,” he said. “It looks like a big old scrum.”

When the August terror attack took place, Mr Stone was on holiday in Europe with two childhood friends: Anthony Sadler, 23, a student at Sacramento State University, and Oregon National Guard Specialist Alek Skarlatos, 22, who had recently returned from duty in Afghanistan.

On 21 August, the three men were aboard a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris when Ayoub El-Khazzani, a Moroccan-born man with ties to radical Islam, opened fire in their carriage. With assistance from other passengers, the Americans disarmed, subdued and restrained him.

Mr Stone, the first of the trio to tackle him, was slashed in the neck and hand with a box-cutter knife as he held El-Khazzani in a chokehold. He later required surgery to reattach his thumb, which had almost been severed in the bloody struggle. Mr Stone later said of the gunman, “He seemed like he was willing to fight to the end — so were we.”

A trained medic, Mr Stone also went to the aid of French-American academic Mark Moogalian, who had been shot in the neck when he confronted El-Khazzani. Mr Moogalian’s wife, Isabelle Risacher, later credited the young airman with having saved her husband’s life.

Spencer Stone was also awarded the Airman's Medal for his role in disarming the gunman (EPA)

A trained medic, Mr Stone also went to the aid of French-American academic Mark Moogalian, who had been shot in the neck when he confronted El-Khazzani. Mr Moogalian’s wife, Isabelle Risacher, later credited the young airman with having saved her husband’s life.

Along with Mr Skarlatos, Mr Sadler and Chris Norman, a 62-year-old British businessman who also helped to subdue the gunman, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour. Mr Stone and his friends were welcomed to the White House and feted with a parade in Sacramento.

Last month it was announced that Mr Stone would be awarded the Purple Heart for his actions, and promoted two ranks to staff sergeant. Mr Skarlatos is a contestant on the latest series of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.