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‘I Probaby Missed That Stray Bullet by Inches': Chicago Couple Vacationing in France Describe Train Attack

One witness said she was sleeping on the train when she heard the glass behind her shatter and felt pieces of glass in her hair

A Chicago couple says they consider themselves lucky to be alive after they barely avoided being struck by gunfire from an armed man on a train from Amsterdam to Paris.

"I probably missed that stray bullet by inches, so I feel very lucky," Amy said.

She and her husband, Bob, who declined to provide their last names, were aboard the train Friday when a gunman carrying an AK-47 started shooting at passengers and crew. Amy said she was dozing when she heard the sound of glass shattering and then felt pieces of glass in her hair.

Three people were wounded in the attack, but several passengers, including three Americans, took down the gunman before he could do any more harm.

"Our hearts were pounding. I thought it was a final train, basically," Bob said.

The gunman was identified only as a 26-year-old Moroccan man who was formerly under surveillance by European authorities.

The three Americans and a British man have been thanked by French authorities for thwarting what could have been a deadly massacre. President Barack Obama called the Americans Saturday afternoon to thank them as well.

Spencer Stone, one of the heroes and a serviceman in the Air Force, was injured during the attack, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

The other two Americans who helped stop the attack were identified as Oregon National Guard Specialist Alek Skarlatos and college senior Anthony Sadler. All three are friends from childhood.

"I think it could have been much worse because regular civilian people I don't think would have had the wherewithal to try to disarm a man with a machine gun," Amy said.

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