Nine people suffered life-threatening injuries on Saturday night after a stabbing attack on a train in central England that Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “deeply concerning.”
Two people were arrested after the attack, which British Transport Police (BTP) declared “a major incident,” adding that counterterrorism officers were supporting the investigation. BTP also declared “Plato” – the national codeword when responding to a “marauding terrorist attack” – before later rescinding this.
Police said 10 people were taken to the hospital, nine of whom suffered life-threatening injuries. No fatalities have been reported in connection with the incident.
Officers were called at 7.42 p.m. to a report of an attack on the service from the northern city of Doncaster to London’s King’s Cross. Armed officers were deployed to Huntingdon station, where the train made an unplanned stop and the two people were arrested, police said.
More than 12 hours after the incident, police had yet to reveal details about the suspected attackers.
Britain’s Defence Minister John Healey told Sky News on Sunday that the incident appeared to be an “isolated attack.”
The passenger saw the suspect tasered
Wren Chambers, who was on the train when the attack happened, told the BBC she initially “heard some screaming and shouting” coming from a carriage or two down.
“A minute or so later, a man… was running down with an apparent wound, bleeding quite badly on his arm. And I thought it was like some Halloween prank at first. But then he’s shouting that someone’s got a knife, he was stabbed,” she said.
After seeing more people running down the train, Chambers grabbed her bag and coat. “I got up and moved forward down the train after them, trying to get as far down the train as I could.”
Another witness who was traveling on the train said he saw an “extremely bloodied” victim. The man, who gave his name as Gavin, told Sky News he believed he saw a suspect tasered before he was arrested.
He said police shouted “Get down, get down” as they got closer to him.
“He then was waving a knife, quite a large knife, and then they detained him,” the eyewitness said.
“I think it was a Taser that got him down in the end,” he said.
Another male passenger, Olly Foster, told the Daily Mail he’d been listening to an audiobook when the attack happened. “A young girl was distraught as the attacker tried to stab her, but a hero of an older man got in the way, taking a gash on his forehead and I think another on his neck,” he said.
Video shared on social media of the immediate aftermath of the incident showed a bloodied person rushing out of Huntingdon station, and dozens of police and emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights gathered outside. In one video, armed officers were seen sprinting down a platform at the station toward the front end of a stationary train.
British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey called it “a shocking incident” and said his thoughts were with those injured and their families.
“We’re conducting urgent inquiries to establish what has happened, and it could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything further,” he said. “At this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”
Large-scale response
Emergency first responders said they had mobilized a large-scale response to the stabbing attack, including sending several air ambulances.
In a statement on X, the East of England Ambulance Service said it had sent “numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, our Hazardous Area Response Team, and critical care teams,” from several regional jurisdictions.
Starmer said on social media: “My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response. Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police,” he said on X.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “deeply saddened to hear about the stabbings,” and that her “thoughts go out to all those affected.”
Mahmood said she is receiving regular updates on the investigation and urged people to avoid “speculation at this early stage” as to what was behind the stabbings.
The rail company that operates trains on the East Coast Main Line, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), said that it was “experiencing major disruption across the LNER route.”
The East Coast Main Line is one of the UK’s busiest and most important railway routes. It connects major cities, running from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverly in Scotland.
“Our advice is ‘Do Not Travel’. Please defer your travel where you can,” LNER said.
It remains unclear at this stage what crimes the attackers will be charged with. Homicide rates in the UK are low compared to other Western nations. Gun crime is particularly low, with the country recording 5,103 offenses involving firearms over this past year, according to government statistics. In comparison, knife crime has risen overall since 2011, although a 1% decrease was recorded over the past year.
