Emergency services personnel inspect a train at Huntingdon, England, railway station in Cambridgeshire after people were stabbed on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
Chris Radburn/PA/AP
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Chris Radburn/PA/AP
LONDON – Ten people remained in hospital on Sunday, nine of them with life-threatening injuries after mass knife attack They caused fear and chaos on a London-bound train in eastern England, British police said. Two suspects were in custody and police said they were working to find a motive.
Details of the attack were sketchy. Bloodied passengers spilled from a long-distance train when it made an emergency stop Saturday in Huntingdon, where dozens of police officers were waiting, shortly after multiple stabbings were reported on board.
At the station, armed officers arrested two people. Police have not named any suspects or disclosed a motive, but said counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.
Defense Secretary John Healey told Sky News that “early assessments are that this was an isolated incident, an isolated attack.”
British Transport Police said in a statement that “10 people were taken to hospital, nine of whom are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.
“This incident has been declared serious and counter-terrorism police are supporting our investigation as we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation behind this incident,” it added.
Police said “Plato”, a national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to what could be a “looter terrorist attack”, was initiated. This statement was later retracted, but the motive for the attack was not revealed.
“We are carrying out an urgent investigation to establish what happened and it may be some time before we can confirm anything further,” Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said. “At this early stage it would be inappropriate to speculate on the reasons for the incident.”
The attack happened as the train from Doncaster in northern England to London's King's Cross station was about halfway through its two-hour journey and approaching Huntingdon, a market town a few miles northwest of the university town of Cambridge.
Passenger Ollie Foster told the BBC he heard people shouting: “Run, run, there's a guy literally cutting everyone up” and initially thought it might have been a Halloween prank. But as passengers pushed past him to leave, he noticed his arm was bleeding from the chair he was leaning on.
Emergency services, including armed police and ambulances, responded quickly as the train approached Huntingdon. The attack appears to have been contained quickly after the train arrived at the station, and officers in forensic suits could be seen on the platform with a police dog.
Cambridgeshire Police, the local police force, said officers were called to the scene about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of London at 7.39pm on Saturday. The police arrived at the station a few minutes later.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his “thoughts are with everyone affected” after the “terrible incident.”
Paul Bristow, mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said he had heard of “horrific scenes” on the train.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates Britain's East Coast railway, confirmed the incident occurred on one of its trains and said there would be significant disruption on the route until Monday.
