LONDON – Ten people were injured in a knife attack on a train connecting London to northeast England on Saturday night, authorities said.
Nine people suffered life-threatening injuries and a 10th victim was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, British Transport Police said in a statement early on Sunday.
“There were no deaths,” the agency said.
The Transport Police investigation involves British Counter-Terrorism Police, an agency involving 43 police forces across England and Wales, as well as police forces in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Transport Police said they hoped to establish the “full circumstances and motivation” for the attack, which has been “declared a serious incident”.
“It would be inappropriate to speculate at this early stage about the cause of the incident,” Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said in a statement.
Police and paramedics rushed to the station in Huntingdon, where the train was stopped after a stabbing was reported at 19:42 GMT (15:42 ET), according to transport police and video of the aftermath on social media.
Cambridgeshire Police patrolling the area arrested two people at the scene, authorities said. No charges were brought against them.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said it had received a report of the attack minutes earlier and had taken “several patients” to a medical facility.
The response included numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, a high-risk response team and two helicopters used to transport patients, the spokesman said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it violence “terrible” and “deeply disturbing” and said: “My thoughts are with all those affected and I thank the emergency services for their response.”
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) issued a “Do Not Travel” warning regarding the line, saying train services have been disrupted and those planning to use it soon should “delay travel where you can” and book new seats.
The buses were initially offered for travel between London and points further north including Huntingdon, 77 miles north of the capital, and Peterborough, 22 miles north of Huntingdon, the railway said. The line through Huntingdon will remain out of service until at least 5am GMT on Sunday, LNER said.
“We are aware of an incident involving one of our trains,” the line, one of England's four largest railways, said. “Our primary concern is the well-being of our customers and crew on board. We are gathering all possible details and liaising with British Transport Police.”
This is the agency said the train When the attacks occurred, it occurred at 18:25 GMT (2:25 pm ET) from Doncaster, about 100 miles northwest of Huntingdon, to London King's Cross.
The A1307, a Cambridgeshire country road leading into the center of Huntingdon, was also closed while the attack was investigated. This was reported by Cambridgeshire Police.
Dennis Romero reported from San Diego and Jamie Gray from London.
