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Three Americans Subdue Gunman on European Train; Donald Trump Holds Large Rally in Alabama; Officials Holding Talks to Ease Tensions between North Korea and South Korea. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired August 22, 2015 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:04] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ran a good 10 meters to get to the guy, and we didn't know that his gun wasn't working or anything like that. Spencer just ran anyway. And if anybody would have gotten shot, it would have been Spencer for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: You're hearing there from one of the three Americans who helped prevent a possible massacre on a train speeding through Europe. They took down a gunman armed with several weapons and a lot of ammunition. This hour those Americans are holding a press conference to talk about what happened. And CNN is heading there now.

Plus --

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Propaganda messages blasting across the DMZ there between North and South Korea. The developing story this morning, the two countries, high level meetings happening right now behind closed doors. They're starting their sixth hour of talks. Will they be able to avoid a shooting war?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And 30,000 people packed a football stadium in Alabama. The latest on the GOP's frontrunner popularity and reach is growing.

CNN Newsroom begins now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

PAUL: We are always so grateful for your company. We hope you're having a good Saturday. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 here on the east coast, 7:00 out west, and we're starting with that breaking news. New details about the possible terror attack thwarted on a Paris bound train. French officials say the suspect was heavily armed, carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an automatic pistol. Belgian official say the attack was linked to radical Islamic groups. And they're now trying to determine whether or not he traveled to Syria.

PAUL: In the meantime, that attack being stopped is largely credited to the quick actions of three Americans who subdued the suspect. Here they are. One of them, Airman Spencer Stone, you see him there, is recovering from a French hospital this morning after being slashed during that scuffle. These are new pictures we wanted to share with you of American military officers visiting that facility this morning.

BLACKWELL: We are just moments away from a press conference being held at the hospital. In fact we're expecting to happen sometime this hour likely. CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson is rushing there and joining us on the phone. Nic, what do we know?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, (via telephone): Well, we know that the senior U.S. official that went to visit Spencer Stone in hospital today after his hand surgery, we know his thumb was seriously injured by a box knife in the attack when he took down attacker. We understand the U.S. defense attache colonel visited him in the hospital. He's been in there for several hours this afternoon visiting Spencer Stone.

Spencer Stone's two friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, are expected to speak again at this press conference. They have been questioned by police as part of the investigation to help the police better understand the attack and better understand exactly what took place on the train. They're helping the police this afternoon. And it's at the police station that they will be giving this statement, this press conference.

I believe we can hear from them perhaps more detailed accounts than we heard last night about what they heard in the minutes before the attack took place and then exactly how they were able to overpower attacker. We've heard already today small details about the attack from French officials.

BLACKWELL: What else do we know about this attacker as this investigation continues? I know the sound you were calling for, we'll have that later in the show before the newscast, I mean before the news conference, rather. But what else are we learning about this man?

ROBERTSON: Well, what he's told French officials so far today, we heard this from the French interior minister, is that he's saying he's 26 years old, that he's a Moroccan, that he lived in Spain last year, that he was living this Belgium this year. The French interior minister cautioned that this is preliminary information and the French authorities need to run that down and check that they are being told the truth.

But they're also telling us that they were told by Spanish authorities last year that this man was coming to France February, early last year, that he was coming to France, that he was wanted -- not wanted, but sort interested in by counterterrorism authorities. So he is firmly on the radar of French officials and Spanish officials.

[10:05:00] And also we're now learning of course the Belgians saying that they're interested in him. They believe that he's been tied to radical Islamists and trying to find out at the moment whether or not he'd been to Syria. So for the Belgian authorities, that still seems to be a possibility and it raises a possibility here did this attacker get on the train when it stopped in Brussels en route between Amsterdam and Paris. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Nic Robertson joining us by phone. He's en route to this news conference that we're expecting to happen outside the police station there in Paris. And be sure to stay with us because we'll bring you that news conference. Two of the three Americans who took this man down are expected to speak. The third man, Spencer Stone, is in the hospital undergoing surgery or, rather, underwent surgery for that injury on his hand.

Let's go now to Nick Valencia. He is getting us up-to-date on what we've learned about these men that are being called heroes.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. That word, "heroes," gets thrown around a lot, but these three Americans, they truly were. Let's take you back to Friday. Those Americans sitting on a train they say when all of a sudden they noticed a conduct or running frantically through the carriage. Emerging behind that conductor, a shirtless man with a rifle hanging over his shoulder. That's when these three men say their instincts took over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY SADLER, SUBDUED ATTACKER ON TRAIN: I came to see my friends on my first trip in Europe, and we stopped a terrorist. It's kind of crazy.

VALENCIA: "Crazy" is one word for it. "Heroic" seems to be a bit more fitting. American Anthony Sadler sitting next to his friend and another witness described what happened during their trip on a high speed train in France on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked up. I saw a guy carrying an AK-47, or at least I assumed it was some kind of machine gun anyway. I ducked down in my seat. Alek actually looked at what was happening, Spencer looked at what was happening. And Alek said to Spencer, "Go get him."

VALENCIA: French authorities say the suspect had fired several gunshots as a French passenger tried to tackle him. That's when the Americans sprung into action. The struggle was brief, bloody, and chaotic.

CHRIS NORMAN, AIDED IN SUBDUING ATTACKER ON TRAIN: The actually guy pulled out a cutter and started cutting Spencer. He cut Spencer behind the neck, nearly cut his thumb off.

VALENCIA: American Spencer Stone, seen here in the middle, would eventually subdue the suspected Islamist with help from his friend Sadler and Alek Skarlatos. Stone, a member of the U.S. Air Force, was hospitalized and is recovering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We called him, and he's doing great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in good spirits.

VALENCIA: His friend Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman, said few words speaking to reporter, but seemed to say it all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relief, relief that nobody got killed. It could have been a real carnage. There's no question about that.

VALENCIA: The three Americans hailed as international heroes. But they know it easily could have ended much differently.

SADLER: We're really proud of my friend that he just reacted to quickly and so bravely. He was really the first one over there. Even after being injured himself, he went to go help the other man who was bleeding also. Without his help, he would have died.

VALENCIA: And most certainly many others on that train would have too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Truly incredible. When asked how it felt to know that their son was an international hero, the parents of one of the Americans said he just knew what he had do. Victor, Christi?

BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

VALENCIA: You bet.

BLACKWELL: An ultimatum, a deadline, and a threat of war. We'll get the latest on the high level meetings between North and South Korea. They're now in their sixth hour of these talks. And we'll talk with one expert about what must be done to pull North and South Korea back from the brink of a shooting water.

PAUL: Plus Donald Trump draws a darn big crowd in Alabama, his largest campaign event to date in fact. Details on some pretty bold predictions that he made. And presidential candidate Ted Cruz has it out with actress Ellen Page while campaigning. We have got that heated exchange for you. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:12:35] PAUL: It's 12 minutes past the hours. We want to get you some other breaking news we've been watching this morning from the Korean Peninsula. New pictures to share with you as well of the North Korean military seemingly standing by, see it there, ready to attack South Korea if given the word at any given moment. Top officials from both sides are meeting behind closed doors right now. They're in their sixth hour of conversations there to prevent the situation from turning in to an all-out war. After North Korea told the South to stop blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda over loud speakers near the border.

The two sides exchanged fire earlier this week and CNN correspondent Kathy Novak is live from the demilitarized zone very near where they are having these conversations. Kathy, what are you hearing about that meeting so far?

KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Christi, it's getting closer to midnight here, so these talks have been going on for several hours, as you say. Quite remarkable that they're happening at all after the kind of tensions that we have been seeing building over the past few days. So it's being seen as a hopeful sign that all of these people have come together at this historic truce village to try to hammer out some sort of way to deescalate the situation.

But as you say, both sides still on the ready at a very high state of alert. We know that the sticking point are these propaganda speakers that the south is refusing to stop blasting into the north. And even as these talks are going on, we're being told by the defense ministry that South Korea is still not going to stop the broadcasts. So whether or not they can reach an agreement still remains to be seen, and if they can't, what happens next, Christi.

PAUL: Kathy Novak, thank you so much for the update.

BLACKWELL: Joining us now with more, Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California's U.S. China Institute. Mike, good to have you this morning.

MIKE CHINOY, U.S.-CHINA INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA: Thanks for having me.

BLACKWELL: So you visited North Korea more than two dozen times. And as I understand it, you believe that this skirmish is more dangerous than previous standoffs. Why?

CHINOY: Well, what we've had if this this situation are a couple of factor has we haven't really had in previous bouts of high tension between North and South Korea. One is this is really the biggest crisis between the north and south since the North Korea Kim Jong-un took power. With his father Kin Jong-il and his grandfather Kim Il- sung ran North Korea, there were kind of accepted rules of the game. The North Koreans used brinksmanship as a tactic, but it was generally thought by the South Koreans and the United States that their leaders knew where to stop.

[10:15:05] But Kim Jong-un is an unknown quantity. He's young, he's impetuous. He's been purging a lot of key officials in his regime. So nobody really knew how far he would be prepared to take it. And at the same time the South Koreans have made it clear they are prepared to respond much more forcibly to any North Korean provocations than has been the case in the past.

So the danger was that the two sides would be locked in and you'd get a cycle of escalation. But at the last minute the north suggested talks. And now, and this is also something we've seen in previous episodes of tension, after tension gets to a very high level the two sides suddenly talk and things get diffused for the time being, although we don't know where these talks are going to lead yet.

BLACKWELL: So we're in hour six now of these talks. And it seems that this would fall in the fashion of the two previous generations of leaders there in North Korea making the threat but then pulling back at the last moment. What could -- or what do you think would North Korea be willing to give up or to relinquish in order to end this? I mean they also have to win something. What's on the table?

CHINOY: Well, the North Koreans want these propaganda broadcasts ended. They're extremely sensitive about anything that disparages their leader Kim Jong-un, which is the central feature of these South Korean broadcasts. And at the same time the South Koreans want the North Koreans to apologize for what the south says were North Koreans planting landmines which maimed a couple of South Korean soldiers a couple of weeks ago. And it was in response to that incident that the South Koreans cranked up the propaganda broadcasts.

The question is, can they find some kind of formula that will allow each to save face, claim they got something? But I think one takeaway from this is that, like his father and grandfather, Kim Jong-un, when it comes to the last minute, is not irrational and does seem willing to step back, and it may well be also that South Korea, having fired artillery rounds into North Korea on Thursday after the North fired some into South Korean, may have also been a kind of wake-up call for North Korea. So the fact diplomacy at a very high level is going is good, but we're not out of the woods yet.

BLACKWELL: Hour six, and it continues. Mike Chinoy, thank you so much.

PAUL: Donald Trump's presidential campaign seems to be gaining more momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I will tell you that. I will tell you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: We're going to you live to Mobile, Alabama, where massive crowds, as you saw there, packed a football stadium to hear what the Republican frontrunner had to say. Also, raging wildfires out west are prompting an emergency declaration. We're going live to the fire zone.

And as we reported at the top of the show, we are waiting for a news conference to begin with two of the Americans who stopped a possible massacre on a high speed train. We understand that should begin in about 12 minutes. We'll bring that to you as soon as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [10:22:04] TRUMP: Wow, wow, wow! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump, look at the crowd there, 30,000 during a rally in Mobile, Alabama, there. One city official called it the greatest event Mobile has ever put on besides Mardi Gras.

Trump took jabs there at his opponents. He bragged about his poll numbers during this appearance, talked about the big swing states there. And he shared the stage for a moment with Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.

CNN's Ryan Nobles was at the event and has the latest for us this morning. Ryan, I wonder, and I'm sure you spoke with people who were there in the crowd -- his opponents say people are attracted to Trump because he is a celebrity. Were they there for the show or for the content, or for the candidate?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, there is no doubt that people are interested in Donald Trump because he is a celebrity, and there were people in line as early as 6:00 yesterday morning. But almost everyone I talked to in line said they believe in him as a candidate, they think he would be the best president of the United States and the best option that they have in this upcoming election.

So the support there last night was legitimate. And that has translated in the polls that we're seeing that are continually coming out about this election. Not only is Trump leading the Republican field nationally, he's leading in many of the key swing states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, which are the early primary states, and in Florida where both Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are from and are two of his chief rivals. In fact Trump is so emboldened by what he's seen in the polls at this point that he told the crowd last night that he'd like to have the election already.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're leading big in Florida. And you know, it's really amazing. I said Florida, I love Florida. It's a great place. Right? But Florida, we have a governor and we have a sitting senator, and I'm killing them. Explain that. Obviously they're not doing a very good job.

Nationally we're just absolutely way ahead of everybody else. In fact, you know, if this were another country, we could maybe call for an expedited election, right? I would love that. Can we do that? Can we do that? I'd like to have the election tomorrow. I don't want to wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And maybe calling for the election, at least a Republican primary early, might help Trump, but of course he still trails almost every Democratic opponent in the national polls, although that gap does appear to be closing.

And for the most part the support for Trump last night was strong and passionate. This is of course an area that truly believes in many of the issues that he is focusing in on, including immigration and repealing Obamacare. So this was fertile country for Donald Trump and an area that will vote early in this primary season in March. Victor?

[10:25:00] BLACKWELL: All right, interesting that in other countries you can call for the election early. Those really aren't stable democracies, though. Ryan Nobles, thank you so much.

PAUL: Touche.

All right, we want to talk about this and get some thoughts from CNN Politics reporter Jeremy Diamond along with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us. Ron, I want to start with you. I want to focus on Alabama and so early. What do you think is the strategy there?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think two answers. One is that this is becoming a national campaign, and the amount of media that is covering the campaign far more than in earlier cycles. Voters everywhere are seeing the same stories about the same candidates whether they are in Iowa or New Hampshire. So no matter where you go, you're campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The larger reason, though, Christi, is that if Donald Trump makes to the finals of this race, which is not clear yet, but if he does, he will make it as the candidate of the conservative wing of the party against the more establishment, center-right candidate like a Jeb Bush or a John Kasich. And the fact is a candidate from that conservative lane is going to have to rely mostly on red states in the general election. Like Alabama, the south, the heartland states, Kansas, Oklahoma, et cetera, while the more establishment candidate is probably going to rely mostly on blue states in the general election, like New York and Illinois and California. That's the division we saw this 2008 with John McCain and Mike Huckabee, the same sort of division we saw in 2012 with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. And if Donald Trump does sustain this and does get into the finals of this race, he will be relying heavily on the more conservative states in the general election.

PAUL: And he had some support there, too, from of course Senator Jeff Sessions who came out, Jeremy, and supported Trump's stance on immigration, didn't come out and say I support him as a whole, did not endorse him per se. What do you make of the fact that he trumpeted him out on stage, and how does that affect the rest of the GOP field?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes. Well, Senator Sessions was really one of the top advisers in helping Trump craft this immigration plan. Trump certainly sought advice from him. And while Senator Sessions hasn't endorsed Trump all together, just his presence there, he put on the "Make America Great Again" hat, that helps bolster Trump's conservative credentials, particularly at a time when he's starting to face the onslaught of attacks from folks like Jeb Bush who this week was calling out Trump for not being a true conservative. Rand Paul, we've seen the same thing from him and other candidates, as well.

So as Trump looks to forge his path, and I agree with Ron that he is going to play it up as the conservative candidate going into the -- towards the nomination, he's certainly going to face attacks from his flip-flops on various issues from single payer health care to abortion to other things like that. So he needs the support from someone like Jeff Sessions or some of these conservatives who are really going to will bolster those credentials and show voters that even one of the most conservative members of Congress is supportive of his candidacy or at least certain aspects of it.

PAUL: All right, Ron Brownstein, Jeremy Diamond, appreciate your insight, gentlemen. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Wildfires out west are burning out of control. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned already. It's so bad that soldiers are being sent to the fire lines today.

CHETRY: And we are just a couple minutes away, we believe, waiting for a news conference to begin with two of the Americans who stopped a possible massacre on a high speed train heading to France. We are going to bring you that as soon as it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:35] BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Bottom of the hour now. The breaking news, we are awaiting a news conference from two of the three Americans. You see them here. The two men who were seated, those two men are Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos. The man standing, Spencer Stone, still in the hospital. These three took down a suspected terrorist on a train headed to Paris. This happened yesterday. We have on the phone with us, Tony Sadler. Anthony Sadler is his son. Mr. Sadler, can you hear us? Mr. Sadler?

TONY SADLER, FATHER OF ANTHONY SADLER, (via telephone): Yes, we can hear you fine.

BLACKWELL: OK, good. You had a conversation with your son yesterday. I first want to know can you tell us about that conversation and your general reaction to what happened on this train?

SADLER: Well, the initial conversation, he called me very early on either from the site, the train site or from the police station, and the initial response was surprise and shock, and after that, disbelief and gratitude that our son was OK, that he wasn't killed or hurt during this encounter.

PAUL: In terms of the conversation that you had with him last night, is he doing OK? What did he tell you about the incident itself and how he's feeling now?

SADLER: It was still settling in with him as far as the reality. He shared it just didn't seem real. It was totally unexpected. It wasn't on any of their radar. They were just out touring Europe and having a great time together for the past week and a half.

The armed gunman came out of the bathroom to the rear of the car that he and his friends were in, and brandishing the automatic weapon. And as the one, I believe conductor, engaged him, he was not able to subdue him, and that's when Spencer first went into action and charged the assailant. And Alek and Anthony came behind him. And between the three of them, they were able to disarm him, get him to the ground, and with the help of a fourth man get him tied up.

The assailant was wielding similar to a box cutter the whole time. That made it a little difficult for the three young men to get control of him. And Spencer did wind up getting cut a few times by this man with that box knife. But thank God they were able to get control over him before he was able to seriously hurt anyone else.

BLACKWELL: Indeed. You see the video here, exclusive video to CNN, the man who is bound there on the floor of the train. You'll be able to see the rifle there in the seat. Let me ask you, Mr. Sadler, are you surprised by the actions taken by your son? Is this something based on -- you would have expected him to do this?

SADLER: Not surprised only in the sense that he was engaged in such an effort and such an incident. But, no, it's well within his character. He's a quick thinker, quick decision maker. His friends were involved, and these friends he's known since middle school. He would certainly not let them engage in anything dangerous and sit by and watch. So in that sense, no, not surprised.

[10:35:11] PAUL: You touched on it but it was something I wanted to ask you about was the relationship he has with these two men and their friendship. You said they have been together or they have been friends since middle school. Help us understand the friendship between these three men.

SADLER: Well, they went to a small private school. So their entire high school student body was probably somewhere around 50 young children. So between middle school and high school, such a small school, they had a strong bond. They were together both on campus and off campus. And the friendship lasted in to college and their military career, Alek and Spencer, so much so that they put their heads together and decided to have this trip while the two of them were still stationed in Europe and enjoy Europe together, the three of them.

BLACKWELL: Do you know when he will be back in California, when you will see him again, or do you plan on traveling to see him?

SADLER: No, the hope is at this time and at this point that he will be back in America and back in Sacramento just as soon as possible, where the next step is for him to answer all of the necessary questions that the French government has concerning the assailant. And as soon as that is completed, we'll begin to make arrangements to get him back home.

PAUL: All right, well, Anthony Sadler, the father of Anthony Sadler, who was one of the three men who took down this suspected terrorist on the train bound for Paris, we are so grateful that your son is OK, that you were able to really give us a good sense of who he and these two other gentlemen are, and wishing you the very best to you and your family and that reunion. Hopefully it comes soon between you and your son. Thank you for taking time for us, Mr. Sadler.

SADLER: Thank you.

PAUL: Absolutely. And do stay with us, because we are expecting a press conference to hear from at least two of those three men who we just learned about coming from France in just minutes, really. We were told it should start any moment now.

BLACKWELL: Hopefully it will happen by the top of the hour. Stay with us. More news after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:15] PAUL: It's 41 minutes past the hour. We are waiting to hear from two of these three men who have been dubbed heroes, and rightly so. They are probably responsible for taking down a suspected terrorist on a train that was on its way to Paris. Nic Robertson is actually there on the phone. He's on his way it to this press conference. But, Nic, what are you hearing about, first of all, the condition of Spencer Stone, who is the one American injured in this, and what we may hear from them at this press conference?

ROBERTSON, (via telephone): There's a possibility we may get an update, although also it's possible that the friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler may not, though, because they have been in the police station helping the police with questions as part of the investigation today.

Meanwhile, Spencer himself has been undergoing surgery in a hospital about 40 minutes drive away. The U.S. defense attache from the embassy in Paris did go to visit Spencer Stone this afternoon. He was in the hospital for a couple hours. But as this time we haven't really had an update on Spencer's condition. We do understand that he had cuts to his hand, cuts to his neck, and also a very serious cut on his thumb. And of course the clinic he is in today specializes in hand injuries. So again, the best care here the French can give him.

But at the moment we're waiting right now to see if Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos are going to come out and speak after they have been debriefed. They're talking with the police through this morning and this afternoon here Paris time. We're waiting to see just when they will come out of the police station and what they're going to say and what details they will be able to add to what they told us yesterday.

A few brief details yesterday of how Spencer was the first one to go in and tackle down this attack to bring him to the ground, Spencer putting himself in very severe danger. They said they didn't know if there was a possibility that he would be shot or what would happen. Of course all three of them piling in to incapacitate the attacker and later on handing him over to the police after the train was stopped. So we may get more details on that. And of course they are now being widely applauded as heroes in this situation. PAUL: Well, certainly because we know that suspect was loaded with

ammunition, with an assault rifle, with a blade. What more have we learned or have you learned about the suspect and where this investigation is headed?

ROBERTSON: Well, it's a very troubling picture at the moment that is emerging. And this suspect was known to counterterrorism officials it seems across Europe, in France, Belgium, and in Spain.

Right now the French authorities have taken the suspect to their headquarters in Paris. The external security authorities have taken him to Paris. They believe that he's a 26-year-old Moroccan. They believe that he was living in Spain last year. They believe he was living in Belgium this year. Those details do have to be checked. And what we've heard from Belgian authorities is they are investigating his links to a radical Islamist group, that they're investigating that group at this time.

And they also say they are investigating whether or are not this suspect had actually been to Syria. They say they don't know the answer to that at the moment. But of course the picture emerging is a very a serious one, of course getting on the train with an automatic weapon, nine magazines of ammunition. Each of those magazines can take 30 bullets. So the math is very simple. Several hundred bullets he had in that weapon plus the automatic pistol, the amounts of damage that he could have caused, the amount of injury and suffering and trauma that he could have caused is horrific. This was a busy train, as many as 500 people on the train, very little way of stopping him apart from the actions, you know, of Spencer Stone and his friends.

[10:45:20] PAUL: You mentioned how many people were on the train. We know that, as you said, these two Americans Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos are speaking with Paris authorities, or French authorities, I should say. Do we know about any other witnesses?

ROBERTSON: There is a British witness who is also in the police station, Chris Norman. He was with Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone helping incapacitate the attacker. He also has been helping the police, again providing what information he can at the police station here in northern France. He also is expected to come out of the police station and speak in a few minutes. He is slightly older than the three Americans who are young men. The British gentleman Chris Norman in his early 50s, we believe.

PAUL: OK, we're looking, to let our viewers know. What you're looking at here is live picture of outside the police station where we believe they are going to be coming out and they are going to hold this press conference here. It's really interesting, Nic, as we look at these authorities that are standing outside, it looks as though they're wearing but let proof vests. Am I right about this? And what is the security there at the press conference?

ROBERTSON: You're correct. Absolutely I'm standing just off to the side and I can see the officers. They have bulletproof vests on, they have holstered weapons. And we've seen today on the periphery here as well either plain clothes police officers with weapons, as well. The fact that they're standing outside the police station waiting for

the witnesses to come out and talk to us all here, security remains a concern. There was a huge breach of security on the train yesterday. They still have authorities here scrambling to make sure that there isn't another imminent threat, and of course these men themselves now being, you know, put into position of saving so many people, they're concerned that there is no attempt to harm them in the wake of that.

PAUL: You know, Nic, one of the things that I think a lot of people might be wondering is how was the suspect able to get on the train with all of that ammunition. Can you help a lot of people who may have never traveled by train in Europe before understand the security measures there?

ROBERTSON: Sure. And the train station that we traveled on today is an exception. The line we took that runs from Britain to France, it's the only train route that has metal detectors and screening, baggage screening, to get on to the platform and get onto the train. But the rest of Europe, like so many other places in the world, there is very limited security in terms of boarding trains when you compare to what there is at airports at the moment.

Certainly there are closed circuit security monitoring cameras. Certainly you'll see in many cities at the moment, you'll looking now at who we believe is Chris Norman potentially speaking here outside the police station. So security at the police -- security at train stations in Europe is not like what we're used to in airports these days. It's relatively easy to get on and off with a relatively rather large amount of baggage.

PAUL: And what you're looking at again, just to get you updated, live picks outside the police station in France as we wait to hear from some of the witnesses and two of the Americans here. I believe this is Chris Norman from -- he's a British witness. Do we want to listen into this?

CHRIS NORMAN: What I would like to do first of all is to say thank you to Alexander Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, without whom I think we probably wouldn't be here to speak to you today.

I'll explain briefly my role and what I saw happen. I was sitting in the coach. I saw -- sorry, I heard a shot. I heard some glass breaking. And then I saw somebody running down the aisle to the front of the train. I was facing towards the back. I then stood up to see what was happening. I saw a man with what I think was an AK-47. Anyway, it was some kind of a machine gun or be submachine gun.

[10:50:08] So my first reaction was to sit down and hide. Then I heard one guy, an American, say "Go get him." And I heard another American say "Don't you do that buddy," or I think that was it. So then I decided that perhaps it was really the only time or only chance was to act as a team and try to take over the terrorist. I suppose he's a terrorist.

And so what I then did, I jumped up, and I was actually the fourth person to begin working on the terrorist. The other person who was there before me was Anthony Sadler, who is the student. I clarified Alexander Skarlatos is from the National Guard in the United States and Spencer Stone is from the U.S. Air Force.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN: Was I praying for that? No, not at all. No, no, no, not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw people running the other way. What made you decide to take on the gunman?

NORMAN: I think it was actually very rapid reasoning, because he had a Kalashnikov. He had a magazine full. I don't know how many magazines he had. My thought was, OK, I'm probably going to die anyway. So let's go. I'd rather die being active trying to get him down, than simply sit in the corner and be shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As it happened, were you in fear of your life?

NORMAN: Initially. But then once you start moving, you're not thinking anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At what point did you realize he was a possible terrorist?

NORMAN: The moment I stood up and I saw a guy with an AK-47.

PAUL: All right, again, you're watching Chris Norman. He is a witness to what happened on the train and actually stepped in with the three Americans Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, and Alek Skarlatos. In fact, when he walked out, you could hear him say if it weren't for Alek Skarlatos I would not be standing here today. And he just answered a reporter, this is really interesting when the reporter said what made you when other people were running the other way stand up and do this. And he said my thought was I'm probably going to die anyway. I'd rather die trying to take this person down than just sitting in the seat.

BLACKWELL: "So let's go," the words he said. The first reaction, he said that he thought that maybe he would sit in a seat and hide. But then he heard someone who we now know according to Anthony Sadler as Alek Skarlatos yell "Get him." And he ran in the direction of this man who is reportedly being investigated as having ties to Islamic extremists. This happening on a train headed to Paris.

Again, we're waiting for Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos to come out in front of this police station and they can speak, as well. Let's go back to Chris Norman.

NORMAN, (via translator): I intervened to hold his right arm. There was a Frenchman who I think was the train controller who came and took his left arm. And in this way we managed to overpower him. And then after that we were able to put him on the ground, immobilize him on the ground.

And then Alexander went to see elsewhere in the train if anybody else was -- if there were any other terrorists. And we saw at that moment somebody was injured. Blood was coming out of his side of his neck. Then Spencer Stone, who was already badly wounded himself, he had nearly lost his thumb and he was cut two or three times at the nape of the neck with the box cutter. And it was him that came and intervened and said that he was a medic. And it was he -- it was him that he was able to stop the blood flowing.

[10:55:03] NORMAN: The train staff were not in the wagon with us. They ran up the aisle. But I really must salute the courage of the French train driver who was actually setting in the row just next to me.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN: Now, yes. When we -- I don't know. I mean it's very difficult to really understand I think. When did it sink in? When I tried to close my eyes last night.

(LAUGHTER)

NORMAN: What my family said to me? They're proud of me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you married?

NORMAN: I'm married. In fact my wife is currently looking after our two grandchildren. I'd like on get back to her to be able to look after them and help her. Yes?

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN: I don't really know. I haven't really spoken very much to them. I've just been able to -- I want to deal with that privately.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN (via translator): I think it is true but I did not see him because apparently he was in coach number 13. I was in coach number 12. And from what I have heard, this is what I've heard after the event, there was a French person who being a accosted the gunman, the aggressor, and I think he tried to stop him. The aggressor had apparently -- the person along the train thought as they were fighting together, this Frenchman and the aggressor. And at this point the aggressor took out all of his weapons and his arsenal, and that's when he went from coach number 13 to coach number 12.

Why you say he was determined? Because, to be honest, I do not know why he didn't manage to shoot. But I think it is because his weapon did not work, it backfired.

NORMAN: What else is there to do? Either you sit down and you die or you get up and you die. It was really nothing more than that. I mean, if you -- we've seen enough of these kinds of attacks to United States that they will kill everybody once they get started. My point of view was that two guys who really started working, really started attacking him, maybe they needed some help. And my -- purely survival. I said to myself, OK, maybe I have a chance if I get up and I help, as well.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN: He put up quite a bit of a fight, but Spencer Stone is a very strong guy. He actually held him very well. And Alexander and Anthony had a pretty good go at hitting him.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORMAN: If fact what I did is I helped hold his arm so he couldn't get hold of him gun.

NORMAN (via translator): He was a man who appeared to be North African, quite small in build, slim. I think, honestly, since I was holding him, I didn't have any problems overcoming him. He was not necessarily very strong. I do not know if he had been trained, let's just say the way the two Americans had a go at him, he could not do much more.

(LAUGHTER)

All I want to do is go home now. In fact, frankly what do I want to do is go home and spend some time with my family.

[11:00:03] NORMAN: I didn't hear him. He was asking for his weapon back.