Ten injured in a knife attack on a train heading to London
British authorities have arrested two suspects as the investigation into the incident continues
Ten people were injured, nine of them seriously, in a multiple knife attack on a train bound for London on Saturday night.
UK counterterrorism police are involved in the investigation of the incident, which took place on a journey from Doncaster station in central England to King's Cross station in the capital.
Ten people were taken to hospital, nine of whom are believed to have life-threatening injuries, the British Transport Police (BTP) announced. The attack occurred before the train arrived at Huntingdon station, northwest of Cambridge and about 120 kilometers north of London. What we know: The BTP, responsible for security on trains and in stations, said two people were arrested in connection with the incident and taken into custody. The incident “has been declared a major incident and the counter-terrorism unit is supporting our investigation as we work to establish the circumstances and motivation behind this event,” they said. Authorities confirmed there were no fatalities and have not yet released information about the identities of the injured or those arrested. Emergency services—including armed officers and medical helicopters—responded immediately when the train arrived at Huntingdon station.
Images released from the scene showed police officers in forensic suits and a sniffer dog on the platform.
According to Cambridgeshire Police, who also responded to the incident, armed officers were alerted at 7:39 p.m. local time and quickly arrived at Huntingdon station.
The two suspects were arrested at the scene.
During the initial response, law enforcement activated the internal code indicating a possible “terrorist attack in progress,” but later deactivated it.
At this time, they have not released any information that might shed light on the possible motive for the attack.
“We are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine what happened, and it could take some time to confirm further details,” said Police Superintendent Chris Casey, in statements reported by the AP.
He added that “at this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”
Scenes of terror
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as the train arrived at Huntingdon.
Dean McFarlane, a London Underground employee who was on the platform, told BBC Look East that he saw the train arrive with an injured passenger on board.
I saw several people running along the platform bleeding, one of them completely covered in blood wearing a white shirt,” he said.
He explained that he tried to help those suffering panic attacks and asked other passengers to leave the station.
The swift police response brought the incident under control once the train arrived at the station.
Throughout the night, investigators worked at the scene collecting evidence, while the area remained cordoned off.
First Reactions
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his solidarity with the victims.
“My thoughts are with everyone affected by this horrific incident,” he said.
For his part, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said he had heard “horrific descriptions of what happened on the train,” according to AP.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates the main line on the UK's east coast, confirmed that the attack took place on board one of its trains and asked passengers to avoid traveling due to the “severe disruption” caused by the investigation.
Meanwhile, rail traffic on the Doncaster-London King's Cross line remained disrupted on Sunday as the investigation continued.
reopening of the station and the conclusion of the investigation.
Authorities reiterated that the investigation remains open and asked the public to avoid spreading rumors or speculation about the causes of the attack.
“We are fully committed to clarifying what happened and ensuring the safety of all passengers,” said British Transport Police.
The incident comes at a sensitive time regarding public safety in the United Kingdom, where police are actively cooperating with counterterrorism units to assess the nature of these types of attacks before ruling out any extremist motivation.
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