UK police say 10 people hospitalized after train stabbing attack, 9 with life-threatening injuries

LONDON (AP) — British police say 10 people have been taken to hospitals after a mass stabbing attack on a London-bound train, nine of them with life-threatening injuries.

In a statement early Sunday, hours after the attack, British Transport Police also said the incident has been declared a “major incident” and that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.

“Ten people have been taken to hospital with nine believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries,” it said. “This has been declared a major incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are supporting our investigation whilst we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

LONDON (AP) — British police said Saturday that “multiple people” were stabbed on a London-bound train near Cambridge and that two individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Emergency services, including armed police and air ambulances, were quick to arrive on the scene shortly soon after they were alerted after 7:30 p.m. as the train drew into Huntingdon, a market town a few miles northwest of the university city of Cambridge.

The stabbing attack appears to have been contained swiftly after the train arrived at the station.

British Transport Police, which took the lead on the response given it is responsible for security matters on the trains, said “multiple people” were stabbed on the Doncaster to London King’s Cross train as it headed into Huntingdon. It did not provide a motive for the attack.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it had mobilized a large-scale response and that “multiple patients” were hospitalized.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the local police force, said armed police attended after officers were called to the scene at Huntingdon station at 7:39 p.m. on Saturday. It added that the two people were arrested at the station, which is around 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of London.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his “thoughts are with all those affected” after the “appalling incident.”

Paul Bristow, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said he had heard of “horrendous scenes” on the train.

London North Eastern Railway, or LNER, which operates the East Coast Mainline services in the U.K., confirmed the incident had happened on one of its trains and urged passengers not to travel because of “major disruption.”