British police have launched an investigation into a mass stabbing on a London-bound train that left ten people wounded, nine of them critically, in what authorities described as a “deeply concerning” incident.
The attack occurred on Saturday evening aboard a train traveling from Doncaster, northern England, to King’s Cross station in London. The service was forced to halt at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire after the violence erupted.
According to police, ten victims were taken to hospital, with nine “believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.” Two suspects were arrested at the scene, and counter-terrorism units are assisting the investigation. Authorities have not yet disclosed the suspects’ identities or possible motives.
AFP journalists reported that forensic teams and police officers worked through the night at Huntingdon station, combing the area for evidence. Witnesses described chaotic scenes as passengers fled in panic.
One passenger, Olly Foster, told the BBC he heard people shouting, “Run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone,” initially thinking it was a Halloween prank. “But then people started pushing through the carriage,” he said, recalling that his hand was “covered in blood” from someone who had been attacked.
Foster added that an older man intervened to protect a young girl, blocking the assailant. “It felt like forever,” he said, though the rampage lasted only minutes.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “appalling” and said it was “deeply concerning.” London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates the route, urged passengers not to travel on Sunday, warning that services might be cancelled or disrupted at short notice.
Knife crime has been a growing issue across England and Wales, with government figures showing steady increases since 2011. Britain’s strict gun laws have not prevented the rise in stabbings, which Starmer has described as a “national crisis.”
The Labour government recently announced that nearly 60,000 blades had been “seized or surrendered” as part of efforts to cut knife crime in half within ten years, the Home Office said Wednesday.
The attack follows a string of recent violent incidents in the UK. In early October, two people were killed, including one accidentally shot by police, during a stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester. Last week, a man appeared in court in London charged with murder after a daylight stabbing that left one person dead and two others injured.
Police say investigations into the latest train attack are ongoing, and additional security measures have been put in place across key transport hubs.
