A 32-year-old man from Peterborough is being treated as the sole suspect in the Huntingdon train knife attack, British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed. A second man, aged 35 from London, was arrested but has been released with no further action after police established he was not involved.
The attack occurred on the 6.25pm LNER service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening. Passengers reported that the stabbings began about 10 minutes after the train left Peterborough. The train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire, where police officers tasered a man carrying a knife.
Eleven people were treated in hospital, with nine originally suffering life-threatening injuries. Five have since been discharged, but one LNER rail worker remains in a life-threatening condition. The worker has been described as a “hero” for intervening to stop the attack.
BTP said there is nothing to suggest the incident was terrorist-related, despite the initial declaration of “Plato” – a national codeword for a marauding terror attack – which was later rescinded. Defence Secretary John Healey called it an “isolated attack” but warned the country faces a “new era of threat”.
King Charles said he was “appalled” and “shocked” by the “dreadful” knife attack. The train driver was also praised by a union official for acting correctly to bring the train safely into the station.
