British police have ruled out terrorism in connection with Saturday’s mass stabbing attack on a train in central England that left two victims fighting for their lives and nine others injured.
Two British born men were arrested within eight minutes of the first emergency call following the incident on a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross. The train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon station, roughly 70 miles north of London, where armed officers detained the suspects at approximately 7.42 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 1.
British Transport Police Superintendent John Loveless confirmed on Sunday morning that 10 people were taken to hospital by ambulance, while another person later self presented for treatment that evening. While nine were initially believed to have life threatening injuries, following assessment and treatment, four have been discharged and two patients remain in a life threatening condition.
At this stage there is nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident, Loveless told reporters during a press statement. He added that officers are working to establish the full circumstances and motivation for the attack. Police confirmed that counter terrorism officers were supporting the investigation out of precaution.
The two suspects arrested on suspicion of attempted murder are a 32 year old Black British national and a 35 year old British national of Caribbean descent. Both were born in the United Kingdom and remain in police custody for questioning, according to Loveless.
Defence Minister John Healey described the incident as isolated, telling Sky News on Sunday that there did not appear to be a wider threat to the public. The early assessment is that this was an isolated incident, an isolated attack, he said.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and panic aboard the train. Passenger Wren Chambers 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 a very clear wound, bleeding quite badly on his arm, she said, adding she thought it was some sort of Halloween prank at first. But then he started shouting that someone had a knife and he was stabbed.
After seeing more people running down the train, Chambers grabbed her bag and coat and moved away from the danger. Another passenger, Olly Foster, told the Daily Mail 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 another on his neck.
An eyewitness identified as Gavin told Sky News he believed he saw one of the suspects tasered before being detained. As armed officers got closer to him, they started shouting get down, get down, and he thinks it was a Taser that got him down in the end.
Video shared on social media showed bloodied passengers 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 toward the front end of a stationary train.
King Charles offered his deepest sympathies to those affected in a statement on Sunday. The King said he was truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack and offered his deepest sympathy and thoughts to all those affected. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident appalling and deeply concerning, thanking emergency services for their response.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was receiving regular updates on the investigation and urged people to avoid comment and speculation at this early stage. Two suspects have been immediately arrested and taken into custody, she wrote on social media.
The attack took place on the East Coast Main Line, one of the UK’s busiest and most important railway routes, connecting major cities from London to Edinburgh in Scotland. The trauma stricken train remained at Huntingdon station on Sunday morning, with medical equipment and other debris strewn on the platform.
