At 7:42 p.m. local time on Saturday evening, police received the first emergency calls about knife attacks on a train, which was en route from Doncaster to King's Cross station in London.
Police and emergency services were quickly on scene at Huntingdon station, twelve miles north of London, as the police station is right next door. Eight minutes after the first emergency calls, armed police forces had boarded the stopped train and arrested two suspected perpetrators.
According to the police, the suspects are two men, aged 32 and 35, who are British citizens and born in the UK.
They were both arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They were this morning at separate police stations for questioning, said Police Chief John Loveless at a press conference.
The motive is being investigated.
A total of ten people were taken to hospital by ambulance and one more person sought treatment themselves. On Saturday morning, the police announced that four people were able to leave the hospital. However, two are still being treated with life-threatening injuries.
It is a shocking incident and my thoughts go first and foremost to the families and friends of those who have been affected and injured, says John Loveless.
Police are now working to investigate what happened and the motive behind the attack.
"The counter-terrorism police initially supported our investigation. However, at this stage there is nothing to suggest that this is an act of terrorism," says John Loveless.
“Pure panic”
Passengers testify that "sheer panic" erupted on board as injured people fled through the train, calling for help.
I heard people shouting, "Run, run, there's a guy literally stabbing everyone," eyewitness Olly Foster tells the BBC .
Several passengers also testify that people were trampled when they tried to escape the perpetrators.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on social media that “the terrible incident” was deeply concerning. He also thanked the emergency services and wrote that “our thoughts go out to all those affected.”
Roads and parts of the train network in the area were closed at the time of the incident. The local train company LNER is also advising against travel on Sunday due to major disruption to train services, which are expected to continue until Monday.
