American who stopped French train attack stabbed in chest

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Spencer Stone, lauded for helping stop a terrorist attack on a French train in August, was stabbed early Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.

Stone, 23, an Airman First Class in the U.S. Air Force, sustained four stab wounds to the chest while on a city street corner.

An Air Force spokesman said Stone was hospitalized in stable condition.

Sacramento police have not officially named him as the victim, nor have they provided any information regarding a suspected assailant.

Stone achieve fame after he and two fellow Americans subdued a heavily armed terror suspect, Ayooub el-Khazaani, in Belgium, aboard a train bound for Paris.

Stone was stabbed with a box cutter during the incident and required surgery to reattach part of his injured hand. He was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's most prestigious medal, and later met with president Barack Obama at the White House.

Alex Skarlatos, one of the other Americans who helped halt the train attack, took to Twitter, calling for prayers.

"Everybody send prayers out to the Stone family today," he wrote.