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.” The incident occurred on the Doncaster–London King’s Cross service, prompting a large-scale emergency response at Huntingdon Station in Cambridgeshire.
British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed that two people were arrested after the attack, which was declared “a major incident.” Counterterrorism officers are supporting the investigation, and authorities briefly activated “Plato,” the national codeword for a “marauding terrorist attack,” before later rescinding it. Police said ten people were taken to hospital, nine with life-threatening injuries and one with non-life-threatening wounds. No fatalities have been reported.
Officers were called at 7:42 p.m. after reports of multiple stabbings aboard the 18:25 LNER service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross. Armed police boarded the train when it made an unplanned stop at Huntingdon Station and detained two suspects. More than 12 hours later, police had yet to reveal details about the attackers. Britain’s Defence Minister John Healey told Sky News the incident appeared to be an “isolated attack.”
Passengers described chaotic scenes as they fled blood-soaked carriages. Olly Foster, a passenger on the train, told the BBC he initially heard people shouting, “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone,” and thought it was a Halloween prank. “Within minutes, people started pushing through the carriage, and I noticed my hand was covered in blood as there was blood all over the chair I had leaned on,” he said. An older man “blocked the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with a gash on his head and neck,” Foster said, adding that passengers used jackets to try to stop the bleeding.
He continued: “The only thing we could use against the attacker was a bottle of whiskey. We were staring down the carriage, praying he wouldn’t come in.” Describing the aftermath, Foster said: “There were three people bleeding severely. One guy was holding his stomach and there’s blood coming from his stomach and going down his leg. He was going ‘help, help, I’ve been stabbed.’”
Another passenger, Wren Chambers, said they first realized something was wrong when “a man bolted down the carriage with a bloody arm, saying they’ve got a knife, run.” Chambers told BBC Radio 5 Live: “There was quite a lot of blood on the train, there was some on my bag, some on my jeans. As soon as the train stopped and people got off most of them ran outside trying to get away from it, because we knew the attacker was still inside on the train.”
One witness told Sky News he saw the suspect tasered before being detained. “He then was waving a knife, quite a large knife, and then they detained him. I think it was a Taser that got him down in the end,” he said.
Dean McFarlane, a London Underground worker at Huntingdon Station, said he saw passengers “running down the platform bleeding, with one man in a white shirt completely covered in blood.” He said he “grabbed people and told them to leave the station,” and assisted others who were having panic attacks.
British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey described the event as “a shocking incident.” He said, “We’re conducting urgent enquiries to establish what has happened, and it could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything further. At this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”
Emergency first responders deployed multiple air ambulances and critical care teams. “We sent numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, our Hazardous Area Response Team, and critical care teams,” the East of England Ambulance Service said on X.
Prime Minister 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.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood added she was “deeply saddened to hear about the stabbings,” urging the public to avoid speculation while investigations continue.
The East Coast Main Line, which connects London and Edinburgh, is experiencing major disruption following the incident. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) advised passengers not to travel, saying: “Our advice is ‘Do Not Travel.’ Please defer your travel where you can.”
Ademide Adebayo
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