The American airman who received a Purple Heart for helping subdue a heavily armed terrorism suspect aboard a French train is in critical condition after being “repeatedly stabbed,” CBS News reports. The incident took place in Sacramento, which is near Stone’s hometown of Carmichael, California. From local station KCRA:
Hometown hero Spencer Stone was stabbed multiple times early Thursday morning near several popular bars in midtown Sacramento, KCRA has confirmed with the U.S. Air Force.
The stabbing happened about 12:45 a.m. near 21st and K streets, Sacramento police said.
A fight in the street allegedly led to Stone being stabbed multiple times in the torso, prompting investigators to block off two blocks in the area, Sacramento police said.
Stone was 23 on Aug. 21 when he and several others (all of whom later received the French Legion of Honor medal) confronted and subdued a 26-year-old Moroccan man named Ayoub el-Khazzani, who was armed with an AK-47, a pistol, and a box cutter on a train traveling from Paris to Amsterdam. Stone was reportedly the first to tackle el-Khazzani and was hospitalized after being slashed during the ensuing struggle. He was given a Purple Heart medal at a Sept. 17 Pentagon ceremony.
