Here's how 2 U.S. servicemen took down the train gunman

Two U.S. servicemen earned praise from President Obama after they worked to subdue a gunman on a train to Paris with the help of their American friend and a British man living in France.

When the suspect, reportedly 26 with ties to radical Islam, entered the train with an AK-47 and a handgun, Airman First Class Spencer Stone immediately ran over and grabbed him by the neck. Then Stone's friend, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, grabbed the suspect's handgun. They beat him over the head with his own rifle until he was unconscious, The New York Times reports, based on Parisian TV interviews Saturday.

No one died in the attack, but three people suffered injuries not considered life-threatening, including Stone, who was cut with a boxcutter by the suspect. While bleeding, Stone went to help the gunshot victim. Both Stone and Skarlatos were off-duty on the train.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

"We were scared for sure, but, I mean, adrenaline mostly just takes over, because I didn't have time to think," Skarlatos said. "I didn't realize or fully comprehend what was going on. It felt like it was a dream or a movie."