Pittsburg native helps thwart attack on France-bound train

Aug. 22--The father of a Northern California man was "shocked," "relieved" and "eventually proud" when he discovered that his son and two friends helped disarm an attacker on a France-bound passenger train Friday morning.

Anthony Sadler Jr., 23, -- a native of Pittsburg who now resides in Sacramento -- called his father early Friday from the scene of the gunman's attempted attack, which was thwarted when Sadler and his two friends wrestled with the suspect and disarmed him, said Tony Sadler Sr., of Rancho Cordova.

"He told me that they were on a train on their way to Paris and an armed gunman came onto the train, came out of the bathroom with an AK-47 and another weapon," the father said.

A passenger aboard the Thalys express train passing through Belgium spotted the gunman coming out of the bathroom with a weapon and began to wrestle with him. The gunman overcame the passenger, but was soon met by Anthony's friend Spencer Stone, a Sacramento area resident who is enlisted in the Marines. Anthony and his other friend Alek Skarlatos, a Roseburg, Oregon, Army man, joined the scuffle.

Tony Sadler said his son described to him how he and his friends disarmed the suspect, who managed to produce a blade during the scuffle and wounded Skarlatos and another passenger.

Anthony Sadler was not injured, and in an interview from Paris with Associated Press late Friday, he recounted the drama.

"We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle," Sadler said. Then, they saw a gunman entering the train car with an automatic rifle, he said.

"As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, 'Spencer, go!' And Spencer runs down the aisle," Sadler said. "Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious."

Another passenger helped tie up the gunman, later identified as a 26-year-old Moroccan, and Stone then helped another passenger who had been wounded in the throat and was losing blood, Sadler said.

"The gunman never said a word," Sadler added.

The friends, who appear to be travelling together in Europe, have become a social media sensation. Each has posted on Facebook about their trips, photographing their treks through picturesque Germany and Italy, enjoying a soccer game and even taking in a wine tasting.

The trio were on their way to Paris from Amsterdam when the incident on the train occurred. The friends all appear to know one another from their time together in Sacramento, where Skarlatos also lived before he moved to Oregon.

According to Sadler's Facebook page, he commented to a friend in an Aug. 17 post that he was planning on heading to Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona before his trip with Skarlatos and Stone concluded.

The White House issued a statement saying that President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting, and said, "While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy."

"With the grace of God, that could have been the end of his young life," Tony Sadler said of his son's heroic moment Friday. "I'm extremely relieved that he was not injured or killed. That has been the dominant emotion all day."

The 23-year-old college student has "leadership qualities" and is a "strong man of faith," said Sadler Sr., who is a reverend at Shiloh Baptist Church in Sacramento.

"He's a laid back young man, but he's got a strong sense of values and he's good at problem solving," the father said. "I can see how God could use those traits to move him to a quick and split second decision that would move him into action."

Anthony Sadler had been in Europe visiting friends for a week and a half before the train incident happened, the father said. The quick-thinking student plans on staying for the rest of his planned trip.

The father said the thought of his son being a hero is still "sinking in" for the entire family.

"But, of course, I'm very proud of him and the other two boys," Tony Sadler said.

The father and son talked on the phone several times Friday, he said. Seeing his son's face on FaceTime and hearing his voice has put his mind at ease.

United States embassy officials have also given the family "some peace and assurance," he said.

"Bottom line is, being a family of faith, we firmly believe that God kept him safe amidst a dangerous situation and used him and his friends to potentially save many lives."

Staff writer Katie Nelson and Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Katrina Cameron at 925-945-4782. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatCameron91.

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