Huntingdon, United Kingdom — UK police arrested two suspects after a mass stabbing on a London-bound train late Saturday that left 10 people in hospital, nine likely with “life-threatening injuries.”
Armed police, backed by police cars and a fleet of ambulances, swarmed a railway station in the eastern rural town of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, after the alarm was raised about the attack and the train brought to a halt there.
“Ten people have been taken to hospital following a multiple stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire. Nine are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries,” British Transport Police said on X, adding that counter-terrorism units were supporting the investigation.
Transport police confirmed the train was running from Doncaster in the northeast to London’s King’s Cross Station, a busy route often packed with travelers.
A witness described seeing a man with a large knife and told The Times newspaper there was “blood everywhere” as people hid in the washrooms.
Some passengers were getting “stamped (on) by others” as they tried to run, and the witness told The Times they “heard some people shouting we love (you).”
Witnesses told Sky News they saw a man holding a large knife on the platform after the train halted. They then saw the man tasered and restrained by police.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “appalling” incident was “deeply concerning”.
“My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response,” Starmer said in a statement on X.
“Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police,” Starmer added, while his interior minister Shabana Mahmood confirmed two people had been taken into custody.
‘Multiple patients’
Armed police were at the scene after being alerted around 7:40 p.m. (1940 GMT) just after the train had left the town of Peterborough.
Late Saturday, police were inspecting the train, which was being treated as a crime scene. People were also led away outside the station in space blankets, an Agence France-Presse photographer saw.
The East of England Ambulance Service said on X that it had mobilized a “large-scale response” to Huntingdon station including ambulances, air ambulances and tactical commanders.
Train operator London North Eastern Railway (LNER) said railway lines were closed while emergency services dealt with the incident.
