(London, Reuters) A mass knife attack on a train bound for London injured 10 passengers. Police arrested two suspects but said there was no evidence of terrorism.
The horrific attack occurred on Saturday, November 1st. The Northeast London Railway train, which departed from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, about 289 kilometers northwest of London, at around 6:25 pm (12:25 am Singapore time), was bound for King's Cross station. Passengers said that after the train passed Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, at least one assailant began attacking passengers inside the carriages.
Police received reports from passengers at around 7:39 pm. The train made an emergency stop at Huntington station, about 180 kilometers from London, and police boarded the train and arrested two suspects.
A large-scale emergency response was deployed. A local councilor told the BBC that about 10 ambulances, several fire engines, and more than 20 police cars were on the scene. Of the 11 injured, four have been discharged from the hospital, while two remain in critical condition. The identities of the injured have not yet been released, and no Singaporeans have been identified as affected.
British Transport Police said on Sunday (2nd) that the two arrested male suspects are both British citizens born in the UK; one is a 32-year-old Black man, and the other is 35 years old and of Caribbean descent. They were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remain in custody.
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The Transport Police added that there is currently no indication that the knife attack was a terrorist incident, and police are still investigating the full details and motive of the attack.
Defence Secretary Healy told the BBC that initial reports suggest it was an isolated incident. Prime Minister Starmer and King Charles both expressed shock and concern over the attack.
Passenger Olly Foster told the BBC that when someone shouted that a knife attack had occurred, he initially thought it was a Halloween prank. However, people then began pushing and shoving in the carriage.
Foster said that the seat he was leaning against was splattered with blood, and his entire hand was covered in blood. He also claimed to have witnessed an elderly man stopping the attacker from stabbing a young girl. Although the attack only lasted a few minutes, it felt incredibly long to him.
Other witnesses said that some passengers hid in the restrooms, while others rushed to the front of the train. A London Underground employee said he saw several people running with injuries at Huntington station, including a man in a white shirt covered in blood.
Official data shows that knife crimes have been on the rise in England and Wales since 2011. The UK Home Office said last week that nearly 60,000 knives have been seized or confiscated in England and Wales in an effort to halve knife crime within 10 years.
On the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Gaza war in early October, a knife attack at a synagogue in Manchester, England, resulted in two deaths (one of whom was accidentally injured by police) and several injuries, shocking the local Jewish community and the nation.
