A 28-year-old man from outside Sacramento has been arrested in the stabbing of a U.S. airman who gained fame for helping to thwart a terrorist attack on a train in France, police said Wednesday.
James Tran, 28, of the Elk Grove area, was arrested during a traffic stop Wednesday morning on suspicion of stabbing Spencer Stone outside a midtown Sacramento nightclub called Badlands early Oct. 8.
Stone, 23, was hospitalized for a week while recovering from the attack, which police said Wednesday came after some kind of dispute between the suspect’s and the airman’s friends over cellphone video.
“People like to use cellphones and catch people in different situations. There was people in one party that videotaped someone else, and it wasn’t something that was appreciated,” Sacramento Police Department Chief Sam Somers Jr. said at a news conference.
Somers would not detail the nature of the dispute or of the video.
A verbal exchange between the two men “deescalated” and then, later, Tran “reengaged” Stone, Somers said.
A physical fight began, and Tran circled behind Stone and stabbed him multiple times in the back, Somers said. Tran and his group fled.
Everyone else involved was being considered a witness, Somers said.
Tran was charged with attempted homicide, Somers said. An arrest warrant and search warrant were issued Tuesday, and Tran’s home was searched Wednesday, Somers said.
Police have had contact with Tran previously, the chief said.
U.S. Airman 1st Class Stone was one of five men who stopped a gunman from attacking passengers on a Paris-bound train in August. Stone was slashed after rushing the gunman.
Stone, based at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, was promoted to staff sergeant on Oct. 30.