What We Know About the Stabbing Attack That Injured at Least Ten People on a Train in England

The British police have ruled out any "terrorist" motives behind the stabbing attack that injured at least ten people on a train in eastern England, and they have arrested two suspects, described as British nationals.

Here are the key details known so far.

The Course of the Attack
The attack occurred on a train that departed at 6:25 PM (local time and GMT) from Doncaster in northern England heading to King's Cross station in London.
The police were alerted to an incident on board around 7:40 PM and intervened at Huntingdon station, located near Cambridge, about 120 kilometers north of the capital.
The British Transport Police (BTP) indicated that local officers "boarded the train and arrested two individuals" within eight minutes.
Ten people were hospitalized, with nine in very serious condition.
By Sunday morning, four of them had been discharged from the hospital, while the condition of two others remained critical, according to BTP Superintendent John Loveless during a press briefing.
According to a passenger cited by Sky News, police used a taser on the platform to subdue a man armed with a large knife.
King Charles III expressed on Sunday that he was "absolutely horrified and shocked" by the attack.
The day before, Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as "extremely concerning."

"Blood Everywhere"
Witnesses on the train described the violence of the attack.
One eyewitness, cited by multiple media outlets, reported seeing a man running down the carriage with a bloody arm, screaming: "They have a knife!" Another reported seeing "blood everywhere."
Olly Foster, quoted by the BBC, initially thought it was a Halloween joke when he heard passengers shouting "Run! There's a guy stabbing everyone."
He described seats covered in blood and a passenger trying to shield a little girl during the incident, which "seemed never-ending."

Two Arrested
BTP official John Loveless stated on Sunday that the police were ruling out any "terrorist" motives at this stage.
He provided some details about the two men arrested on "suspicion of attempted murder" who remain in custody.
They are "a 32-year-old Black man, a British national, and a 35-year-old man, also British and of Caribbean descent." "Both were born in the UK."
The day before, Commissioner Chris Casey had urged the public not to "speculate about the causes of the incident."
Counter-terrorism services have been involved to assist with the investigation.
On Sunday, the train where the attack occurred remained immobilized at the station, and forensic officers were working on-site.
LNER Chief Executive David Horne expressed that he was "deeply shocked" by the tragedy. The company urged against traveling on their lines on Sunday due to ongoing disruptions.

Increase in Knife Violence
In a country with very strict gun laws, knife violence has significantly increased over the past fifteen years in England and Wales, according to official figures. The Prime Minister has previously described the situation as a "national crisis."
The Starmer government has taken several measures to tighten access to knives since coming to power in July 2024.
This attack comes a month after a knife attack at a synagogue north of Manchester, which left two people dead, one of them from a bullet fired by responding police.
In the summer of 2024, a young British man of Rwandan descent killed three girls with a knife during a dance class in Southport, northern England. Ten others, including eight children, were injured.
And a 22-year-old Afghan refugee was charged this week after a knife attack that left one dead and two injured near London on Monday.

AFP