Sacramento police search for 2 suspects accused of stabbing American hero

Laura Anthony Image
ByLaura Anthony KGO logo
Friday, October 9, 2015
Sacramento police search for 2 suspects accused in stabbing of American hero
Police in Sacramento are searching for two people accused in the stabbing of French train hero Spencer Stone outside a bar early this morning.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, who helped take down a gunman on a train in France, was stabbed multiple times in the torso in Sacramento early Thursday morning.

Sacramento police released an image Thursday afternoon showing two persons of interest who drove off in a dark Toyota Camry Thursday morning. Surveillance video caught the stabbing in Midtown at 21st and K streets around 1 a.m.

SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Spencer Stone attacked in fight

The decorated hero is now recovering from stab wounds suffered during the vicious street fight.

"I suspect given his history of recent events, he's quite a fighter," said Dr. Douglas Kirk of the UC Davis Medical Center.

Doctors at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento say an international hero suffered three serious stab wounds to his torso.

"While he has sustained significant injuries, Airman Stone's care team anticipates he will make a full recovery," Kirk said.

Sacramento Police close off the area near to where Spencer Stone was stabbed on Thursday, October 8, 2015.
KGO-TV

Surveillance video captured by a liquor store surveillance camera showed the fight between French train hero Spencer Stone and several other men.

Moments earlier, according to police, the decorated airman and four friends were inside a nearby bar. Stone's uncle told ABC News, the 23-year-old Stone was defending a friend when the fight broke out.

"This incident is a very unfortunate altercation between two groups of folks who were enjoying the nightlife in Midtown Sacramento," said Sacramento Police Chief Ken Bernard.

In August, Stone earned a Purple Heart for his role in thwarting a terrorist attack on a French train. He and Sacramento buddies Alex Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler tackled and subdued a would-be gunman.

Stone was injured then, stabbed multiple times, and now again in his hometown.

"He's doing OK, just got out of surgery. I'm just kind of heartbroken right now," said Heidi Hansen, Alex Skarlatos mother.

"He's considered a hero for local people and to have him come back to his hometown and encounter that, it's something sad for the community," said Natalie Aguilar of Sacramento.

Police released another surveillance video showing the stabbing suspects jumping into a dark colored Toyota Camry seconds after the fight.

READ MORE: Obama thanks 3 American heroes who thwarted train terror attack

Skarlatos, who is currently on this season's Dancing With the Stars on ABC, and a student at Umpqua Community College, the site of recent mass shooting, tweeted about the stabbing.

VIDEO: 3 Sacramento men speak about role in stopping terror attack