Spencer Stone, one of three Americans who helped foil a terror attack on a French train in August, was stabbed in Sacramento on Wednesday night, the U.S. Air Force confirmed to NBC News.
Airman First Class Stone was in stable condition on Thursday, an Air Force spokesperson said.
“He is alive and in stable condition at this time,” the spokesperson said. “We do not have any information as to the events preceding the incident.”
Stone was out with friends when he was stabbed multiple times in the torso around 12:45 a.m. near some popular bars in downtown Sacramento, police said.
It appeared that a “verbal argument” ended up on the street and led to a physical confrontation, a Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman told NBC News.
He was not targeted because of his heroics in France, the spokeswoman said. “It appears it was happenstance,” she added.
A man and a woman were questioned after the attack, NBC affiliate KCRA reported, adding they were not detained or taken into custody. Police have not released a description of the suspect, the station said.
Stone, 25, tackled Morocco-born Ayooub El-Khazaani after the heavily armed terror suspect opened fire on a Paris-bound train in August.
Stone was stabbed with a box cutter during the bloody struggle with El-Khazaani, and needed surgery to reattach part of his hand. He received France’s highest award, the Legion d’Honneur, along with childhood friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, for his selfless actions.
Skarlatos tweeted Thursday morning: “Everybody send prayers out to the stone family today.”
Stone said after the attack he acted in the interest of “survival” — not only for himself but for everyone else on the train. “He seemed like he was willing to fight to the end — so were we,” Stone said of El-Khazzani.
