Relatives Of Men Who Subdued Gunman On Train Proud, Glad They Survived
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13/AP) — Relatives of the three Americans who tackled and disarmed a gunman on a European train say they are proud of the men and relieved they weren't killed during those chaotic moments onboard a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris.
Tony Sadler says his son, Anthony Sadler, called him to tell him what happened. He says he was stunned and then relieved his 23-year-old son was not injured or killed.
Sadler and two Sacramento-area friends, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, helped subdue the man carrying a handgun and an assault rifle.
The gunman slashed Stone several times with a boxcutter. His mother, Joyce Eskel, tells the San Francisco Chronicle her son called her from the hospital and told her the gunman also tried to shoot him twice but the weapon didn't work.
Eskel says "he's always been a hero to me. Now he's an actual hero."
Messages of congratulations from Sacramento-area leaders have been pouring in for the men. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson took to Twitter Saturday morning to thank the three.
"Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos risked their own lives to save the lives of complete strangers. That is true heroism. I can not be prouder that Anthony and Spencer come from the Sacramento region," Johnson wrote. "This community looks forward to giving them a heroes welcome when they return home."
Being a Sacramento State student, school president Robert S. Nelsen commended Sadler's heroism.
"We are proud to say Anthony Sadler is a member of the Hornet family," Nelsen said in a statement Saturday. "His efforts, along with those of his childhood friends, to save the train passengers in France from a terrorist attack are nothing short of heroic."
Sacramento State says the 23-year-old Sadler is a senior at the school and is majoring in kinesiology.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.