Train hero avoided Oregon rampage due to TV show rehearsal

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2015, file photo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, awards Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos with the Soldier's Medal during a ceremony at the Pentagon. Skarlatos, one of three Americans hailed as heroes for stopping a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in August, would have been at the Oregon college where a gunman killed nine people if Skarlatos had not been in Los Angeles to rehearse for ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2015, file photo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, awards Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos with the Soldier's Medal during a ceremony at the Pentagon. Skarlatos, one of three Americans hailed as heroes for stopping a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in August, would have been at the Oregon college where a gunman killed nine people if Skarlatos had not been in Los Angeles to rehearse for ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

By Associated Press October 2, 2015 2 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Alek Skarlatos, one of three Americans hailed as heroes for stopping a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in August, would have been at the Oregon college where a gunman killed nine people if Skarlatos hadn’t been in Los Angeles to rehearse for ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

Skarlatos, 22, told the network’s “Good Morning America” program that he would have been attending a class at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, when the man opened fire on a writing class Thursday, ABC News reported (http://abcn.ws/1YUbsvv ) Friday.

Skarlatos was asked if he would have taken down the shooter if he had been in the classroom.

“I would have tried anyways,” he said.

Skarlatos said he was with “Dancing” partner Lindsay Arnold when he received a text from a friend about the shooting. He said he then looked up the news on the Internet to confirm it.