British man charged over UK train horror as hero worker fights for life
UK Police has charged a British man with 10 counts of attempted murder and other criminal offences following a horrifying knife attack on a train that left 11 people hospitalised.
Police has charged a British man with 10 counts of attempted murder and other criminal offences following a horrifying knife attack on a UK train that left 11 people hospitalised.
British Transport Police confirmed that Anthony Williams, a 32-year-old British male, will appear in court on Monday following the knife attack on a London-bound train on Saturday night.
The man from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire has been charged with ten counts of attempted murder, one count of ABH and one count of possession of bladed article following the attack at Huntington.
He is due to appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday, local time.
Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said: “The criminal investigation and support for the victims is a priority for British Transport Police.
“Our investigation is also looking at other possible linked offences.”
He has also warned people to be cautious before posting anything online about the attack.
“Following the charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service I would stress the importance of not saying or publishing anything which might jeopardise or prejudice ongoing criminal proceedings, or the integrity of the investigation,” Dept Chief Constable Cundy said.
Witnesses said the knife-wielding attacker told passengers the “devil is not going to win” as he launched a terrifying rampage on a high-speed train to London.
A “brave” train worker is in critical condition after attempting to stop the knifeman, while the quick-thinking driver, an Iraq War veteran, was praised for diverting the service into an emergency stop at Huntingdon station.
Superintendent John Loveless from the British Transport Police said there was nothing to suggest at this stage that the mass stabbing was a terrorist attack.
“At this stage there is nothing to suggest that this is a terror incident,” he said at a press conference outside Huntington station.
British Transport Police confirmed that a 32-year-old British national remains on suspicion of attempted murder and is being treated as the “only suspect”.
The second suspect, a 35-year-old man from London, has now been released.
“It was reported in good faith to officers responding to the incident that he was involved in the attack, and following inquiries we can confirm that he was not involved”.
It came as terrifying footage emerged of a knife-wielding man calmly walking behind passengers as they ran down platform two at Huntingdon station after the train made an emergency stop.
The CCTV footage, taken from a local business, shows the man jumping over a fence before walking through a car park.
Witnesses said the male appeared “possessed” and “dead behind the eyes”, The Sun reports.
Passengers were on board a train service that was travelling from Doncaster to London’s Kings Cross station when the stabbings took place — the first calls to emergency services were made about 7.42pm and arrests were made by police eight minutes later.
Dramatic video of the suspect’s arrest, taken by a taxi driver, shows the alleged attacker, dressed all in black, screaming “kill me, kill me, kill me”.
In a video shared with The Sun, the man is wrestled to the ground and tasered by police on a train platform as multiple armed officers and a police dog surround him at Huntingdon train station.
Witnesses said the attacker shouted “the devil’s not going to win” as he came at passengers with a knife.
Dayna Arnold was in the same train car as the attacker when he began slashing at “anyone he could find,” The Sun reports.
“I was going with the crowd but then I got knocked into some seats. I looked back and saw the knifeman running so I slid down to the floor,” she said.
She added: “He came at me with the knife and I begged, ‘Please don’t’ Then something shifted in his face and he just carried on. I feel very fortunate to still be alive.
“Then a minute or so later he came back through, looked at me again and said ‘the devil’s not going to win,’ and continued on,” she said.
HERO TRAIN DRIVER, CREW MEMBER SAVED PASSENGERS
It took eight minutes after the first 999 emergency calls were received for the two men to be arrested at Huntingdon station, 120km north of London, and Counter Terrorism police were initially supporting the investigation.
The quick actions of the train driver — a Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran — helped save the lives of passengers.
Andrew Johnson, from Peterborough, diverted the London-bound train to Huntingdon station shortly after being alerted to the mass stabbing, The Telegraph reported.
He served in the Royal Navy for 17 years and was deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the second Gulf War.
Mr Johnson is “shaken up” but receiving support, Nigel Roebuck of the Aslef union told Sky News.
“So he’s getting a great level of support, and that’s good, all we can do is make sure that he’s looked after.
“He didn’t stop the train in the middle of two stations where it’s obviously difficult for the emergency services to reach, but he carried on going until he got to Huntingdon, where the response was pretty much already there.”
Police also praised another crew member, who was critically injured, for helping to protect passengers.
In a statement, the British Transport Police said: “Five casualties have now been discharged from hospital and one remains in a life-threatening condition.
“This casualty is a member of LNER rail staff who was on the train at the time and tried to stop the attacker.
“Detectives have reviewed the CCTV from the train and it is clear his actions were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved many people’s lives.”
Police presence has been ramped up across the UK on the nation’s train networks following the attack.
“Passengers will see a high visibility presence of police officers at stations and on trains throughout the today, up and down the transport network,” Supt Loveless said.
“Our officers are there to reassure the public and to address any concerns they may have”.
The attacks took place on the 6.25pm Doncaster to London service and passengers were reported as trying to escape the attackers by hiding in the train’s toilets.
Ten people were taken to hospital by ambulance — nine were initially understood to have life-threatening injuries but on Monday two people remained in a life-threatening condition.
Huntington station remains closed and police have appealed to anyone with information related to the incident to contact police.
‘HORRIFIC EVENTS’: WILLIAM, CATHERINE REACT
Prince William and Princess Catherine said their thoughts are with the families and friends of those impacted by the “horrific events near Huntingdon.”
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “I spoke to the Prince of Wales this morning and he also asked me to express his and the Princess of Wales’ thoughts for the families and friends of all those impacted by the horrific events last night near Huntingdon.
“He also wishes for me to express his thoughts are also with first responders and trained staff that acted so swiftly.”
King Charles III also said he was horrified after learning of the incident.
“My wife and I were truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack that took place on board a train in Cambridgeshire last night,” he said.
“Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with all those affected, and their loved ones.
“We are particularly grateful to the emergency services for their response to this awful incident”.
‘BLOOD EVERYWHERE’: HOW HORROR ATTACK UNFOLDED
The incident began shortly after the LNER train from Doncaster to London King’s Cross left Peterborough station about 7.30pm, local time.
More than 30 officers were sent to Huntingdon station, where the train made an emergency stop.
One eyewitness described the scene on the train as “horrific” and “pure chaos” on-board.
They told The Sun: “There was blood everywhere, it was a terrible scene, really violent. It was like something from a film.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said the early assessment was that the incident was an “isolated attack”.
“So there’s no reason for the rest of us not to get on with our lives, get on and travel to the places we need to get to,” Mr Healey told Sky News.
One eyewitness, Gavin, told Sky News he saw an attacker, who was wearing a black hoodie, being arrested on the station platform.
Gavin said: “I was in coach G, a lot people coming through. I heard them say they have a knife I’ve been stabbed, he was trying to get away from suspect, truly bloodied.
“This person ended up on the floor. We couldn’t progress further (down the train) because the person collapsed on the floor, they were taken straight away in an ambulance.”
He said he saw someone moving through his carriage saying: “They’ve got a knife, I’ve been stabbed.”
“They were making their way through the carriage to get away from the suspects. They were extremely bloodied,” Gavin said.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “The appalling incident on a train near Huntingdon is deeply concerning. My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response. Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police.”
The Conservative opposition home secretary frontbencher Chris Philp tweeted: “Horrific scenes in Huntingdon, in what seems to be a brutal mass attack by two perpetrators. My thoughts are with all those injured or affected and the emergency services responding.
Knife crime in England and Wales has increased since 2011, according to official government data.
While Britain has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, rampant knife crime has been branded a “national crisis” by Starmer.
His Labour government has tried to rein in their use.
Nearly 60,000 blades have been either “seized or surrendered” in England and Wales as part of government efforts to halve knife crime within a decade, the interior ministry said last week.
A series of other high-profile attacks have shaken the country in the last year, including the murder of three girls at a dance class in Southport in July 2024, one of the country’s worst mass stabbings in years.
Two people were killed — one as a result of misdirected police gunfire — and others wounded in a stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester at the start of October.
And a man appeared in a London court last week, charged with murder after a stabbing attack in broad daylight which left one dead and two injured.
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Originally published as British man charged over UK train horror as hero worker fights for life
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