Nov 20 2020 rbbm.
American passenger recalls trying to kill train attacker at Paris trial
Alek Skarlatos, left, Anthony Sadler, center, and Mark Moogalian pose for photographers aththe end of their hearing during the Thalys attack trial at the Paris courthouse, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Passengers who wrestled and disarmed an Islamic State gunman aboard a high-speed Amsterdam to Paris train are recounting how their split-second decisions helped prevent what could have become a mass slaughter. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
''PARIS - One of three Americans acclaimed as heroes for tackling an alleged Islamic State gunman aboard a Paris-bound train testified Friday that he tried to kill the man who stormed into their passenger car with an arsenal of weapons.
Alek Skarlatos, 28, told a Paris court at the gunman's trial that he yanked a pistol from the attacker's hand, turned it on him and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
“I was honestly trying my best to kill or restrain him,” Skarlatos said, recounting the chaotic Aug. 21, 2015 scene aboard the highspeed Amsterdam to Paris train.''
''The attack suspect, Ayoub El Khazzani faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted of attempted terrorist murder. The 31-year-old Moroccan, who had spent time in Syria, is being tried in a heavily guarded courtroom with three suspected accomplices.
The month-long trial that opened this week could help expose the web that linked the underworld of the Islamic State group and uncover plots to target Europe. The man considered the co-ordinator of the November 2015 massacre outside a stadium and at a music hall and restaurants in Paris that left 130 people dead had travelled with El Khazzani from Syria to Europe, according to investigators.
One of El Khazzani's co-defendants, Mohamed Bakkali, is also a suspected accomplice in the Paris attacks.''
