American who helped subdue gunman on French train speaks with Jimmy Fallon

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The three Americans who helped successfully subdue a gunman on a train to Paris last month almost didn't catch the train at all.

Anthony Sadler, a student at Sacramento State University, appeared on the Tonight Show Tuesday to recount his experience helping his friends and one British man subjugate the gunman -- later identified as Ayoub El Kahzani, 26, -- who opened fire in a moving train late last month.

Since then, the four have been recognized by multiple governments and the public as heroes.

"We were having so much fun in Amsterdam, we almost didn't leave," Sadler admitted, prompting laughs from both Fallon and the audience.

"We were in the middle of our Europe trip," Sadler told host Jimmy Fallon of the moments before meeting the gunman. "I was actually asleep at the time...there was a gunshot, glass shattering."

The student said he began waking up when he noticed a train employee sprinting down the aisle. "I look over at my friends and they duck down," he said of Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, two air force servicemen.

"There's a gunman coming in the train cocking an AK," Sadler continued. "I was like, 'Is this real? Is somebody playing a joke?'"

It wasn't a joke, and Sadler's friends decided to intervene. The student followed their lead, eventually helping to subdue the gunman using physical force.

"In the midst of us beating him up he dropped the gun and pulled out a box cutter, so we had to beat him up a little more," Sadler said. Stone was injured by the blade during the ordeal, but Kahzani was beaten unconscious shortly after.

Kahzani was armed with a handgun, assault rifle and a box cutter and is presumed to have intended to do serious harm on the train.

The train stopped in the town of Arras, about 115 miles north of Paris, and the gunman was taken into custody. All passengers were evacuated from the train there.

Calling it an "attack of barbaric violence," France Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said French authorities are investigating the incident. Cazeneuve said the men were "particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances.''