atlantisthemes – Cambridgeshire train stabbing: 10 people injured in attack; police arrest two suspects – latest updates

Some more images from the scene at Huntingdon Station are coming through:

It’s nearing 6am in London and if you are just catching up with the news, here is a quick recap of what we know so far about the Cambridgeshire train stabbing attack.

• Nine people have been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries after a mass stabbing on a train travelling from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening. A tenth person suffered non life-threatening injuries.

• A man with a large knife is believed to have been shot with a Taser by police after the attack on the high speed train after it left Peterborough station in Cambridgeshire.

• British Transport Police (BTP) said two people have been arrested over the stabbings which happened on the 6.25pm train service. Counter-terrorism police are also involved in the investigation.

• Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer described the attack as “deeply concerning”.

• Witnesses have spoken of seeing a man with a large knife and passengers hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage, The Times reported. One told the paper there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee.

• London North Eastern Railway, which operates East Coast Mainline services in the UK, said disruption to services in the area was expected to last until Monday, with passengers advised to defer travel.

LNER, which operates East Coast Mainline services in the UK, said disruption to its services between London Kings Cross and Lincoln, Doncaster, Leeds, Bradford Forster Square and Harrogate was expected to last until Monday, with passengers advised to defer their travel where possible.

Knife crime in England and Wales has been steadily rising since 2011, according to official government data. While Britain has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, rampant knife crime has been branded a “national crisis” by Starmer. His government has tried to rein in the use of knives.

Nearly 60,000 blades have been either “seized or surrendered” in England and Wales as part of government efforts to halve knife crime within a decade, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

Carrying a knife in public can be punishable by up to four years in prison, and the government said knife murders had dropped by 18% in the last year.

People at the scene of the train stabbing have described some horrifying details.

Olly Foster told the BBC he initially heard people shouting “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone”, and believed it might have been a prank related to Halloween.

Foster said that people quickly started pushing through the carriage, and he noticed his hand was “covered in blood” as there was “blood all over the chair” he had leaned on.

An older man “blocked” the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with injuries to his head and neck, Mr Foster said, adding other passengers used their clothing to try and stem the bleeding.

He said the incident “felt like forever”.

Here is a map showing the location of the incident:

• Nine people have been left with life-threatening injuries after a mass stabbing on a train travelling from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday. A tenth person suffered non life-threatening injuries.

• Counter-terrorism police are involved in the investigation.

• A man with a large knife is believed to have been shot with a Taser by police after the attack on a high speed train after it left Peterborough station in Cambridgeshire.

• British Transport Police (BTP) said two people have been arrested over the stabbings which happened on the 6.25pm train service.

• Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer described the attack as “deeply concerning”.

• BTP said a major incident was declared, and at one point declared “Plato”, the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack”, before the latter declaration was subsequently rescinded.

• Witnesses have spoken of seeing a man with a large knife and passengers hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage, The Times reported. One told the paper there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee.

• Images from the scene and from social media showed scores of blue-light police cars and emergency vehicles in a station car park, and a team of armed police running towards the stationary train at Huntingdon station. Officers wearing forensic suits, with a police dog, could be seen on the platform.

• The attack is understood to have started shortly after the LNER train left Peterborough station.

• Ch Supt Chris Casey said: “This is a shocking incident and first and foremost my thoughts are with those who have been injured this evening and their families … At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”

• MP for Huntingdon Ben Obese-Jecty called the incident “appalling and devastating”.

• London North Eastern Railway, which operates East Coast Mainline services in the UK, said disruption to services in the area was expected to last until Monday, with passengers advised to defer their travel where possible.

• What we don’t yet know: the identity of the victims, and the identity of the arrested suspects.

David Horne, managing director of train operator London North Eastern Railway, said the company is “deeply shocked and saddened by this serious incident”.

He said in a statement: “Our thoughts are very much with everyone involved.”

“I would like to thank the emergency services for their quick and professional response and the care they have provided to those injured. Anyone with information who hasn’t already spoken to police is urged to contact British Transport Police.

“The safety and wellbeing of everyone affected will remain our priority. We will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues during this difficult time.”

Here are some more images from the scene. It is 3am now in Cambridgeshire.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has urged the public to “avoid comment and speculation” in the wake of the stabbings and said she was receiving regular updates on the investigation.