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Americans’ 'Gut Instinct' Stopped Gunman

HEROES

U.S. servicemen recall train take-down.

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Regis Duvignau/Reuters

Three Americans said they relied on "gut instinct" to overpower a gunman aboard a train traveling through Belgium. U.S. Airman Spencer Stone, 23, on Sunday recalled how he and his two friends, 22-year-old National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and 23-year-old Anthony Sadler, heroically took down the 26-year-old Moroccan gunman Ayoub El-Khazzani while traveling on an Amsterdam-to-Paris fast train. Stone recounted waking up to Skarlatos hitting him on the shoulder and saying, "Let's go," before the two moved to tackle the gunman. El-Khazzani's lawyer claims her client is homeless and found the weapons in a park near the Brussels train station where he boarded. She said he planned to rob train passengers to feed himself. French and Spanish authorities contend El-Khazzani is an Islamic extremist who may have traveled to Syria.

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