Obama thanks train attack heroes
Three Americans who helped thwart a terror attack by a Moroccan gunman on a high speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris on August 21, 2015 continue to receive honors and accolades for their heroic efforts.
Spencer Stone (2nd L), Anthony Sadler (R) and Alek Skarlatos (L) meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2015.
Train terror attack heroes
President Obama meets with Spencer Stone (2nd L), Anthony Sadler (R) and Alek Skarlatos (L) at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2015.
The three men along with British businessman, Chris Norman, and French-American academic Mark Moogalian, played roles in preventing major violence when the gunman, 25-year-old Ayoub El-Khazzani, began his attack. Moogalian was seriously wounded by a gunshot to his neck.
Train terror attack heroes
President Obama meets with Spencer Stone (2nd R), Anthony Sadler (2nd L) and Alek Skarlatos (L), the three men who subdued a gunman on a Paris-bound train in August, at the Oval Office At the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2015.
Train terror attack heroes
(L-R) United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Air Force General Paul Selva, U.S. Army Specialist Alek Skarlatos, (Soldier's Medal), USAF Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, (Airman's Medal and Purple Heart), and civilian Anthony Sadler (Department of Defense Medal of Valor) bow their heads in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2015, during the invocation prior to the awards for their roles in disarming a gunman on a Paris-bound train August 21.
Train terror attack heroes
Alek Skarlatos (L-R), Spencer Stone, and Anthony Sadler, who helped thwart an attack on a French train in August, wave to the crowd during a parade honoring them in Sacramento, California on September 11, 2015.
The three men were honored as hometown heroes in California's state capital of with a street festival and parade that drew thousands despite scorching heat.
Train terror attack heroes
Sacramento residents cheer Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler (not pictured) during a parade honoring them in Sacramento, California on September 11, 2015.
Train terror attack heroes
Spencer Stone, who helped thwart an attack on a French train in August, greets a friend in the crowd during a parade honoring them in Sacramento, California on September 11, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
Three American tourists were honored by French President Francois Hollande with the prestigious Legion of Honor in Paris on August 24, 2015 for thwarting a terror attack by a Moroccan gunman on a high speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday, August 21. The three Americans were assisted by a British businessman, Chris Norman. All four were presented with the Legion of Honor August 24 while French-American academic Mark Moogalian, who initially tried to stop the gunman and was shot, received the same honor on September 13, 2015.
A combination photo shows U.S. Airman Spencer Stone, left, Anthony Sadler, center, and U.S. National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos as Stone departs a clinic in Lesquin, France, and as Sadler and Skarlatos pose after they were recognized for their bravery in Arras, France, August 22, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
French-American academic Mark Moogalian, who lives in France, is credited with helping to thwart an attack on a Paris-bound train from Belgium on August 21, 2015.
Moogalian, 51, was shot in the neck after trying to stop the attacker. The gunman, 25-year-old Ayoub El-Khazzani, was then subdued by Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Chris Norman. Stone was credited with saving Moogalian's life with first aid.
Spencer Stone
Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone , right, meets Chief Master Sgt. Phillip Easton, 86th Airlift Wing command chief, upon his arrival to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, August 24, 2015. Stone, along with childhood friends Aleksander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, was recently honored by French President François Hollande with the French Legion of Honour for subduing an armed gunman when he entered their train carrying an assault rifle, a handgun and a box cutter. Stone is an ambulance service technician with the 65th Medical Operations Squadron stationed at Lajes Field, Azores.
Train terror attack thwarted
French President Francois Hollande (L) poses with U.S. Ambassador to France Jane Hartley (C), three Americans National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos (2ndL), Airman First Class Spencer Stone (2ndR) and student Anthony Sadler as they leave after a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015. Hollande awarded France's highest honor, the Legion d'honneur, to the Americans and a Briton who helped disarm a machine gun-toting attacker on a Thalys train last week.
Train terror attack thwarted
French President Francois Hollande (C) poses with British businessman Chris Norman (L), U.S. student Anthony Sadler (2ndL), U.S. Airman First Class Spencer Stone (2ndR) and U.S. National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos (R) during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015. Hollande awarded France's highest honor, the Legion d'honneur, to the four men, who helped disarm a Moroccan gunman on a Thalys train last week.
Train terror attack in France
French President Francois Hollande (L) awards U.S. Airman First Class Spencer Stone (C) with the Legion of Honor medal as U.S. National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos applauds during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
U.S. Airman First Class Spencer Stone (L) and U.S. National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos (R) attend a ceremony in their honor at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
British businessman Chris Norman (L) speaks with U.S. student Anthony Sadler during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
The Legion of Honour medals for the three Americans and the British businessman Chris Norman are pictured on a cushion during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, August 24, 2015.
Southern Spain
Apartment buildings in the El Saladillo neighborhood of Algeciras town, southern Spain, August 23, 2015. Fingerprint evidence shows that the suspected gunman overpowered by passengers on a train in France is a Moroccan known to European authorities as a suspected Islamist militant, according to a source familiar with the case.
The source said the suspect, Ayoub el Khazzani, was believed to have flown from Berlin to Istanbul on May 10 this year. According to a Spanish counter-terrorism source, Spanish authorities had a suspect they identified as Khazzani under surveillance before he left Spain for France in 2014, travelled to Syria, and then came back to France. In Spain, he lived in Madrid between 2007 and 2010 before moving to the southern port of Algeciras.
Train terror attack in France
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve attends a news conference at the Interior Ministry in Paris, August 22, 2015 after a gunman was overpowered by passengers on a Amsterdam to Paris, Thalys high-speed train in France on Friday, August 21.
Train terror attack in France
U.S. Colonel Brendan B. McAloon (L), the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache at the American Embassy in Paris, and Dr Patrick Goldstein (R), head of the Emergency Services at the CHR Lille Hospital, arrive at the Clinique Lille Sud, which specializes in hand injuries, in Lesquin, France, August 22, 2015. Two people were wounded in a struggle to subdue the Kalashnikov-toting attacker aboard a high-speed Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday, August 21, 2015. Two U.S. servicemen, one of whom suffered knife wounds, were among passengers who stopped the gunman. The wounded U.S. serviceman, Spencer Stone, was treated at a specialist hospital for people with hand injuries.
Train terror attack in France
U.S. ambassador to France Jane Hartley (not pictured) presents U.S Airman First Class Spencer Stone, student Anthony Sadler and National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos (L to R) as they attend a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, August 23, 2015. The three men helped overpower a Moroccan gunman on a high speed train heading for Paris from Amsterdam August 21.
Train terror attack in France
Three men who helped disarm a gunman on a train from Amsterdam to France, from left, Anthony Sadler, from Pittsburg, California, Aleck Sharlatos, from Roseburg, Oregon, and Chris Norman, a British man living in France, pose with medals they received for their bravery at a restaurant in Arras, France, August 21, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
French police investigate police inside the Thalys high-speed train where shots were fired in Arras, France, August 21, 2015. Three people were wounded in a shooting incident on high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris on Friday, the French Interior Ministry said. A man was arrested when the train stopped at Arras station in northern France.
Train terror attack in France
French police check for clues on the train platform in Arras, France, August 21, 2015. Three people were wounded in a shooting incident on high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris on Friday. A man was arrested when the train stopped at Arras station in northern France.
Spencer Stone
An injured Spencer Stone receives aid after he tackled a 26-year-old Moroccan gunman, identified as Ayoub El-Khazzani, on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris on August 21, 2015. Stone was also credited with saving a French-American teacher wounded in the neck by a gunshot by administering first aid.
Gunman apprehended
French police stand over a man, identified as Ayoub El-Khazzani, who was apprehended on the platform at the Arras train station after shots were fired on the Amsterdam to Paris Thalys high-speed train in Arras, France, Aug. 21, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
A man lies on the on floor in the Amsterdam to Paris Thalys high-speed train where shots were fired and several people were injured in Arras, France, August 21, 2015.
Train terror attack in France
French emergency services transport a victim after a shooting on the Amsterdam to Paris Thalys high-speed train in Arras, France, August 21, 2015. Three people were wounded in the shooting incident on the high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris.