The Paris train attack hero who was stabbed several times Wednesday can be seen in a new video released by Sacramento police fighting off a group of attackers.
Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone was out with four other friends, two men and two women, when he was stabbed just after midnight outside a nightclub in Sacramento.
In news conference, Deputy Police Chief Ken Bernard called it “a very unfortunate altercation between two groups of folks” outside the nightclub, and police have said alcohol was a factor in the fight. Stone is being treated for non-life-threatening “but very significant injuries,” Bernard said.
Police are now searching for two Asian males, one of whom is believed to be the attacker.
Bernard stressed that the incident isn’t related to terrorism or to what happened in France.
In August, Stone was one of three Americans who stopped a heavily armed gunman on a Paris-bound train, potentially saving hundreds of lives. Moroccan Ayoud El Khazzani had an AK-47, a lugar pistol, a box cutter and several hundred rounds of ammunition, according to Air Force reports.
Stone charged Khazzani, tackling him to the ground and knocking the would-be gunman unconscious before anyone was killed. Despite injuring his own thumb during the attack, Stone provided medical aid to a French passenger who had been shot after subduing the gunman.
Two other Americans also helped to stop the gunman: Oregon National Guardsman Spc. Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler.
Skarlatos took to social media Thursday morning after news broke of the stabbing, urging followers on photo-sharing site Instagram to “send some prayers” to Stone.
The three childhood friends visited the Pentagon last month where Defense Secretary Ash Carter presented Stone with the Purple Heart for his injuries and the Airman’s Medal, the highest award for bravery outside of combat.
“Thank you for acting,” Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said during the ceremony. “Thank you for being people who cared enough to make a difference.”
The three Americans also received the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award for valor, in the days following the attack.
Stone will be promoted two ranks to staff sergeant this month as a result of his actions.
