One summer evening in 2015, a man stepped out of a train bathroom carrying enough ammunition to turn a quiet journey into a massacre. What happened the next few moments changed the fate of 554 people.
On August 21, 2015, a high speed train was rushing from Amsterdam to Paris at nearly 300 kilometers per hour (really fast). The cars were full of families, tourists, as well as business travelers. A total of 554 passengers were on board. Among them were three young men from California spending their vacation in Europe.
Spencer Stone was 23 and an Air Force medical technician. Alek Skarlatos was 22 just home from Afghanistan with the Army National Guard. Anthony Sadler was a college senior. They had grown up together; all middle school friends who had crossed an ocean for a wonderful holiday. At 5:45 p.m. the calm of the evening broke into turmoil.
A shirtless man walked out of a restroom holding a Kalashnikov rifle. Inside his backpack were eight loaded magazines, a handgun, gasoline, a box cutter, and nearly 270 rounds of ammunition. The man’s name was Ayoub El Khazzani. His plan was simple – just kill as many people as possible.
The first person who moved was a 51-year old professor named Mark Moogalian. He did not wait. He rushed forward and grabbed the rifle. But the attacker pulled out a pistol and fired. The bullet tore through Moogalian’s neck after which he collapsed to the floor as blood poured out.
In another car, Spencer Stone was asleep. The gunshot woke him. When he opened his eyes he saw a train employee sprinting past, chased by a shirtless man with a weapon. Skarlatos slapped Stone on the shoulder. He uttered just two words: “Let’s go.” There was no discussion nor strategy.
Stone ran straight toward the attacker. Then Skarlatos followed and Sadler followed.
Stone reached the gunman first and slammed into him, locking his arms around the man’s neck. The attacker fought wildly, pulling out a box cutter. He slashed Stone across the neck, across the eyebrow, across the thumb. Blood ran down Stone’s face. But Stone did not let go.
Then Skarlatos grabbed the rifle and began striking the attacker with it. Sadler helped hold the man down. A British businessman named Chris Norman rushed over and joined them. Together they forced the attacker to the floor and held him there until he lost consciousness.
Then Skarlatos noticed something strange. The rifle had jammed, the pistol had no magazine and no round in the chamber. The gunman’s weapons were useless. But Stone had not known that when he charged.
With the attacker pinned down, Stone turned to the wounded professor lying on the floor. Moogalian was bleeding out. So Stone, a medical tech, tore off his shirt and wrapped it around the wound. The bleeding did not stop, so he pushed two fingers directly into the wound and pressed down on the artery until the bleeding slowed then stopped. Stone held that pressure while blood from his own injuries soaked his clothes. He stayed there until paramedics met the train at the next station. Both men survived. Every passenger aboard that train reached Paris alive.
Three days later, French President François Hollande awarded Stone, Skarlatos, Sadler, and Norman the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration. In the United States they were honored at the Pentagon. Stone received the Airman’s Medal and the Purple Heart. Skarlatos received the Soldier’s Medal. And as for the attacker, well he was later convicted of attempted terrorist murder and sentenced to life in prison.
But life after that day was not simple. Several weeks later, Stone was stabbed outside a bar in Sacramento. The knife punctured his heart and lung. But miraculously, once again, he survived.
In 2018 their amazing story of survival reached movie screens in “The 15:17 to Paris,” directed by Clint Eastwood. The three friends played themselves in the movie.
Skarlatos later served in the Oregon House of Representatives. Sadler became a public speaker. Stone studied international relations and now advocates for veterans.
But the most important moment of their lives lasted less than a minute. A man stepped out of a train bathroom carrying 270 rounds of ammunition. One friend said two words. A 23 year old airman who had just woken from sleep ran straight at a man with a rifle. He did not know the gun had jammed. He did not know if there were more attackers. He only knew people were in danger. The most miraculous of all is that because three friends moved instead of freezing, 554 strangers went home that night.
Sometimes courage is not planned. Sometimes it is simply the choice to move forward when every instinct tells you to run. Sometimes we must decide to just do it.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Tagged: courage, friendship
