(AP) 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.
