British police have opened an investigation into a mass stabbing on a London-bound train that left ten people injured, nine of them critically, in what officials have described as a “deeply concerning” incident.
The attack took place on Saturday evening aboard a train travelling from Doncaster in northern England to King’s Cross station in London. The service was forced to stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire after violence broke out.
According to police reports, all ten victims were taken to hospital, with nine suffering life-threatening injuries. Two suspects were arrested at the scene, while counter-terrorism officers have joined the investigation. Authorities have yet to release the suspects’ names or confirm possible motives.
AFP journalists said forensic teams and police officers worked through the night at Huntingdon station, collecting evidence as shaken passengers recounted scenes of chaos.
Witness Olly Foster told the BBC he initially thought the attack was a Halloween prank after hearing people shout, “Run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone.” He added, “Then people started pushing through the carriage — my hand was covered in blood from someone who’d been attacked.”
Foster described how an older man intervened to shield a young girl, blocking the attacker. “It felt like forever,” he said, though the assault lasted only a few minutes.
Other witnesses told Sky News they saw a man wielding a large knife on the platform after the train stopped, moments before police used a taser to subdue and arrest him.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “appalling” and “deeply concerning.” London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates the route, urged passengers to avoid travelling on Sunday, warning that services could face cancellations and delays.
Knife crime has been on the rise across England and Wales, despite strict gun laws. Official data shows steady increases since 2011, with Starmer labelling the trend a “national crisis.”
The Labour government recently said nearly 60,000 knives had been “seized or surrendered” as part of its goal to halve knife crime within the next decade.
Saturday’s incident comes amid a series of violent attacks across the UK. In early October, two people were killed — one accidentally shot by police — during a stabbing at a Manchester synagogue. Just last week, a man in London was charged with murder following another daylight stabbing that left one dead and two injured.
Police say investigations into the latest train attack are ongoing, with heightened security now in place across major transport hubs.
