Only one man now a suspect in train stabbing in England as police rule out terrorism

LAST UPDATE | 19 hrs ago

ONE OF TWO men arrested on suspicion of involvement in a mass stabbing on a London-bound train has been released.

Only one 32-year-old man remains a suspect, police said.

He remains in police custody on suspicion of attempted murder, it said, adding that he was from Peterborough, where he boarded the train.

“A 35-year-old man from London who was also arrested at the scene has been released with no further action,” it said.

The man suspected of carrying out a knife attack on a train in England is not believed to have been motivated by terrorism, police said.

British Transport Police (BTP) said two people remain in a life-threatening condition following the bloody rampage on a high-speed train yesterday evening.

11 people had been treated in hospital, and after nine originally presented with life-threatening injuries, five have now been discharged.

Superintendent John Loveless said one suspect is a black British national and the other is a British national of Caribbean descent. Both men, aged 32 and 35, were born in the UK.

The two suspects remain in separate police stations for questioning, Loveless said.

The incident happened on a high speed train after it had left Peterborough station in Cambridgeshire in the east of the country.

The force declared a major incident and said the pair were arrested after the 6.25pm train service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross was stopped at Huntingdon station.

It is unclear when the suspect got on the train, with police also not confirming where the man was from, only that both he and the man now released from custody were born in Britain.

Police said there have been no fatalities so far from the attacks which Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “deeply concerning”.

BTP said a major incident was declared, and at one point declared “Plato”, the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack”, before the latter declaration was subsequently rescinded.

Commenting on whether the incident was terrorism, Loveless told reporters: “British Transport Police declared a major incident yesterday, and counter-terrorism policing were initially supporting our investigation.

“However, at this stage, there is nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident.”

Loveless said armed police officers and paramedics attended Huntingdon station and boarded the train, arresting the two suspects within eight minutes of the 999 call being made.

Witness reaction

Witnesses have spoken of seeing a man with a large knife and passengers hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage, The Times reported.

One told the paper there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee.

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The witness said: “I heard some people shouting we love (you).”

The Sun said another witness described the attack as “like something from a film”, adding: “It was a terrible scene, really violent.”

One man, who gave his name as Gavin, told Sky News he believed he saw the suspect tasered before he was arrested.

He said: “Essentially, as they got closer to him, started shouting, like, get down get down.

“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.”

Olly Foster told the BBC he initially heard people shouting “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone”, and believed it might have been a prank related to Halloween.

Foster said that people quickly started pushing through the carriage, and he noticed his hand was “covered in blood” as there was “blood all over the chair” he had leaned on.

An older man “blocked” the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with injuries to his head and neck, Foster said, adding other passengers used their clothing to try and stem the bleeding.

He said the incident “felt like forever”.

Video footage on social media showed scores of blue-light police cars and emergency vehicles in a station car park, and a team of armed police running towards the stationary train at Huntingdon station.

Officers wearing forensic suits, with a police dog, could be seen on the platform.

The attack is understood to have started shortly after the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train left Peterborough station.

Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said: “This is a shocking incident and first and foremost my thoughts are with those who have been injured this evening and their families.

“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.”

MP for Huntingdon Ben Obese-Jecty called the incident “appalling and devastating”.

“My thoughts are with all those victims who were injured during this heinous attack,” he wrote on X.

“I would like to pay tribute to the incredible and immediate response of the emergency services, particularly the Response Officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary who were first to arrive on the scene.”

LNER, which operates East Coast Mainline services in the UK, said disruption to its many of its services was expected to last until tomorrow.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this serious incident, and our thoughts are very much with everyone involved,” managing director of LNER David Horne said.

“I would like to thank the emergency services for their quick and professional response and the care they have provided to those injured.”