France train attack: Meet the heroes who wrestled the gunman

Quick thinking and gut instinct. Three friends from the United States of America, a British national and an unknown French National saved the lives of several 100 people when they charged, tackled and subdued the gunman who opened fire on a high speed train en-route to Paris from Amsterdam last Friday.

Today these men are heroes and deservingly so, because had it not been for them, the tragedy would have been unthinkable. Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos from the United States of America, Chrish Norman from the United Kingdom and an unknown French national were on the train, which was attacked by a gunman.

The five had the presence of mind and the guts to overcome the gunman who was sporting an AK-47. Here we detail the heroes for you.

Anthony Sadler:

Anthony Sadler from Sacramento was the one who restrained the gunman and ensured that he stayed down until help came along. He along with the others tied up the suspect and later announced that the gunman had been subdued and there was nothing to worry.

Sadler is a college student and this was his first trip to Europe. In a news conference he said, "I am just a college student, it's my last year in college. I came to see my friends on my first trip in Europe and we stopped a terrorist.

Alek Skarlatos:

A resident of Oregon, this National Guardsman was on a visit after his return from Afghansitan. Little did he know that after a tough assignment at Afghanistan, he would be back to fighting terror while on a holiday.

It was his presence of mind that got the rest activated. In fact he had yelled "get him." He also noticed that after the first shot that was fired, the weapon was jammed. He then charged up to the gunman and hit him before seizing his weapon.

Spencer Stone:

Stone who serves in the US Air Force was very lucky. He could have lost his life as he charged at the gunman after Skarlatos screamed, "get him." When Stone charged at the gunman, he was attacked with a box cutter. Stone suffered injuries on his neck and hand.

However, Stone did not give up and continued to fight the gunman before pulling the box cutter and also weapons out of his hand.

Chris Norman:

The British national played a key role in subduing the gunman. When the three Americans were fighting the gunman, it was Norman who jumped and helped subdue the gunman. He was sitting in the front row when he noticed something was wrong.

He told a news conference that he saw a man with an AK-47 in his hand. I saw there were others who were fighting him. I got up from my seat and helped them. At first I thought I was going to die. I decided that I rather be brave and fight this person rather sit in one place and get shot.

The French National:

The name of the French National has been withheld by the French authorities for security reasons. A male passenger, he helped in immobilizing the gunman. When he heard shots being fired, he ran to the help of the rest and helped overpower the gunman.