A railway staff member is fighting for their life after attempting to stop a knife attack on a London-bound train. The assault on the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service from Doncaster left 11 people hospitalized, with two in critical condition following the Saturday evening rampage near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
British Transport Police described the staff member's actions as "heroic" after reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said the employee "undoubtedly saved people's lives" by intervening during the 15-minute attack that began shortly after the train departed Peterborough station around 7:30 PM.
Iraq War veteran Andrew Johnson, the train driver, diverted the service to Huntingdon station, enabling armed police to board and arrest two suspects within eight minutes of the emergency call.
A 32-year-old Black British man remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder. A 35-year-old British man of Caribbean descent was arrested at the scene but has been released with no further action after investigators confirmed he was not involved. Investigators have ruled out terrorism as a motive but declined to speculate on what drove the attack. "At this stage, there is nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident," Superintendent John Loveless told reporters at the scene.
Terror on board
Passengers described scenes of chaos as the attacker moved through the carriages with a knife. Project manager Dayna Arnold, 48, told the Mirror how she fell to the floor and pleaded for her life. "I just said, 'Please don't kill me'. Something shifted in his face and he just carried on. He said: 'The devil is not going to win,'" she recounted.
Her partner Andy Gray helped a stabbing victim by creating a tourniquet from his belt after finding the young man with severe wounds and bleeding heavily.
Passenger Olly Foster told the BBC he was listening to an audiobook in Coach H when he heard people shouting: "Run! Run! There's a guy stabbing literally everyone and everything." He later saw an older man whom the attacker had stabbed in the head and neck while shielding a younger girl from the attacker. "There was a girl, bless her, who was really, really in a bit of a state because the guy actually tried to stab her - and one of the older guys who as an absolute hero blocked it with his head," Foster said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the incident "appalling" and "deeply concerning". King Charles released a statement saying he and the Queen were "truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack".
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis pledged financial support for affected fans, as several of the club's London-based supporters were returning from a match on the train.
Of the 11 hospitalized, doctors discharged four while two remain in life-threatening condition.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
