SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Three California men have been granted French citizenship for their role in thwarting a terror attack on a French train in 2015.
Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler were naturalized Thursday at a ceremony in Sacramento. They were honored by Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, consul general of France in San Francisco, and Guy Michelier, honorary consul of France in Sacramento.
The three men were traveling from Amsterdam to Paris during a trip in Europe when they helped subdue a man who opened fire inside the train. Authorities say attacker, Ayoub El-Khazzani, had ties to radical Islam.
Skarlatos is a former member of the Oregon National Guard, and Stone is a former Airman 1st Class in the United States Airforce.
All three men are from the Sacramento area.
![Alek Skarlatos, left, Anthony Sadler, Dorothy Eskel and her grandson Spencer Stone celebrate following a French Naturalization Ceremony for the three men in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Randall Benton) Heroes French Citizenship]()
Alek Skarlatos, left, Anthony Sadler, Dorothy Eskel and her grandson Spencer Stone celebrate following a French Naturalization Ceremony for the three men in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Randall Benton)
![French Consul General Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, left, congratulates Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos during a French Naturalization Ceremony in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. The three men were heralded as heroes when they subdued an armed terrorist on a train in France in 2015. Today they were granted French citizenship. (AP Photo/Randall Benton) Heroes French Citizenship]()
French Consul General Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, left, congratulates Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos during a French Naturalization Ceremony in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. The three men were heralded as heroes when they subdued an armed terrorist on a train in France in 2015. Today they were granted French citizenship. (AP Photo/Randall Benton)