A tragedy was narrowly averted in France Friday thanks to the courage of three American passengers and a British man who rushed to take down a heavily armed man after they heard gunfire.

President Francois Hollande hailed the men as heroes. Two of the three men traveling together were off-duty servicemen, Air Force serviceman Spencer Stone (pictured, left) and Alek Skarlatos (center), a National Guardsman.

"It's my last year in college, I came to see my friends on my first trip in Europe and we stopped a terrorist," said Anthony Sadler, who jumped into the fight to help along with Chris Norman. "It's kind of crazy."

The American men, who are childhood friends, and Mr Norman were awarded medals for bravery by authorities in Arras.

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(WATCH the heroes describe it below or READ more from the BBC) Photo via Twitter