The Latest: American who helped thwart French attack says injured friend is ‘one tough guy’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The latest on the stabbing of a U.S. airman who helped stop a gunman on a French passenger train (all times local):

5:12 p.m.

A young American who helped stop a gunman on a Paris-bound train this summer says he’s sending prayers to one of two childhood friends who helped thwart the attack after he was stabbed outside a California bar.

National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos says in a tweet that Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone “is one tough guy.”

Stone was stabbed three times in the torso while out with four friends early Thursday in Sacramento. Police say it happened during a fight, and two assailants fled in a car.

In August, Skarlatos, Stone and their friend Anthony Sadler were vacationing in Europe when they sprang into action aboard a Paris-bound passenger train and tackled a man with ties to radical Islam. The man had boarded the train with a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol and a box cutter.

Skarlatos also tweeted Thursday: “Everybody send prayers out to the Stone family today.”

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4:30 p.m.

A doctor says a U.S. airman who helped thwart an attack on a French train suffered three wounds to the torso when he was stabbed in a fight near a bar in Sacramento, California.

Douglas Kirk, chief medical officer at UC Davis Medical Center, says Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone underwent surgery but is expected to make a full recovery.

Stone was stabbed while out with four friends early Thursday. Police say two assailants fled in a car.

Kirk says Stone was conscious when he arrived at the hospital.

He says the airman has “significant injuries” and is heavily sedated. However, he declined to discuss any details about the surgery or whether any of Stone’s vital organs were damaged.

Kirk adds: “I suspect given his history of recent events he is quite a fighter.”

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1:53 p.m.

A surveillance video from a camera outside a Sacramento liquor store captured the knife fight that injured a U.S. airman who helped thwart an attack on a French train this summer.

The grainy footage shows a man who appears to be Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone fighting with several people at an intersection. The group spills into the street as they take swings at one another, and one person gets knocked down.

Stone was stabbed repeatedly in the upper body while out with four friends early Thursday. Authorities say he has significant injuries but is expected to survive. Police say two assailants fled in a car.

Cameras outside A&P Liquors captured the footage, and it was replayed for The Associated Press. Store employee Ryan Romandia says the video was provided to Sacramento police.

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11:05 a.m.

Police in California’s capital city say they are looking for two men in the stabbing of a U.S. airman hailed as a hero for helping thwart a gunman’s attack on a French train in August.

Sacramento Police Deputy Chief Ken Bernard said at a news conference that Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone was stabbed multiple times Thursday and had very significant injuries that appeared non-life-threatening.

He says investigators are searching for two Asian men who fled in a dark-colored 2009 to 2012 Toyota Camry.

Bernard says Stone was out with four other people and a fight with another group led to the stabbing near a bar. Police say they don’t know if Stone was drinking alcohol, but others in his group were.

University of California, Davis, Medical Center says Stone is in serious condition.

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10:47 a.m.

Police in California’s capital city say the stabbing of a U.S. airman hailed as a hero for helping stop a gunman on a French train came after a fight near a bar and wasn’t related to terrorism.

Sacramento police said in a news release Thursday that Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone was stabbed multiple times in his upper body and is being treated for injuries that apparently are not life-threatening.

Police say a fight led to the stabbing and alcohol was likely a factor. Authorities say it doesn’t appear to be a random act. A call from a passer-by came in at 12:46 a.m. Thursday.

The 23-year-old was taken to an area hospital. An Air Force spokesman says Stone is in stable condition.

Police say no arrests have been made yet.

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