“The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes”
Discussion and Book Signing
On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in
Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his
mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough
ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into
the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS
attack was about to begin.
Khazzani wasn’t expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and
Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman
first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the
Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their
decision—to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he
turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone—depended on a
lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith.
Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in
California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each
other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at
school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the
courage to stand in the path of one of the world’s deadliest
terrorist organizations.
The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship
and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found
the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment
when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.