Roseburg Guardsman who helped stop train attack to be honored

By now, the world knows all about the selfless, quick-thinking efforts of U.S. Airman Spencer Stone, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, who acted with courage to subdue an armed attacker and suspected Islamist terrorist who seemed nearly certainly bent on killing as many people on board the train as possible.

Suspected train terrorist Ayoub el-Khazzani was led into a Paris court Tuesday barefoot, blindfolded and wearing hospital scrubs, as news emerged he had looked at a jihadist website before boarding an Amsterdam-to-Paris train.

Molins, speaking at a live news conference in Paris on Tuesday, said that the content of the video was of “Islamic preaching” and urged violent acts.

After bursting out of the bathroom with his assault rifle, El Khazzani was met by a French man who was waiting there and who tried to stop him.

Investigators are expected to file several charges against him, including multiple attempted murders in connection with terrorism.

And his goal? The prosecutor put it in stark terms: El Khazzani, the prosecutor said, was “attempting to kill a whole train full of people”.

Four passengers – three Americans and a Briton – took down the gunman as he opened fire on the speeding train.

On Monday, French President Francois Hollande bestowed the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration, on the Briton and three Americans who subdued Khazzani. No one was detained or taken in for questioning, though investigators seized “some objects” for further examination, it said.

We are proud to count him in our ranks.

French surveillance helped authorities spot the suspect on a May 10 flight from Berlin to Istanbul, then a return flight from Antakya, Turkey, to Tirana, Albania, via Istanbul, Molins said.

Khazzani also claims he found the stash of weapons and mobile phone in a park where he was sleeping rough the night before.

Ticket sellers at the station have told investigators that Khazzani paid in cash and turned down an earlier journey, which Molins said was an indication the target had been carefully chosen in advance.

The parents of all three men reportedly traveled to Paris, where the trio were presented with France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor, Monday by French President Francois Hollande.

The state capital will strike up the bands for student Anthony Sadler, 22, Spencer Stone, a 23-year-old US airman, and National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, 22.

“I think as citizens, we need to really move forward and we need to take some of the responsibility for it”, he said, referring to the battle against terrorism. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday the U.S. military services are considering “appropriate awards to recognize their heroic actions”.