British Police Rule Out Terrorism in UK Train Stabbing Attack
PETERBOROUGH, England – British police have stated there is “nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident” following a stabbing attack on a train traveling from doncaster to London’s King’s Cross station on Saturday. The incident occurred as the 6:25 p.m. train was approximately halfway through its two-hour journey, having just departed Peterborough.
Two men were arrested after the train made an emergency stop in Huntingdon, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of London. One suspect is a 32-year-old Black British man, and the other is a 35-year-old man of Caribbean descent; their relationship to each other has not been disclosed. The type of knife, or knives, used in the attack also remains unconfirmed.
Initially, police initiated “Plato,” the national code word for a potential “marauding terror attack,” but that declaration was later rescinded.
Eleven people were treated for injuries as a result of the attack. As of Sunday, two remain in life-threatening condition, while four have been discharged from the hospital.
Passenger Olly Foster described hearing shouts of “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone” and initially mistook the situation for a Halloween prank. He later discovered his hand was covered in blood from a chair.
home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the “remarkable bravery of staff and passengers on the train” who reportedly intervened to protect others. King Charles III and Queen Camilla expressed their sympathies and shock at the “dreadful knife attack.”
London North Eastern Railway (LNER), the train operator, confirmed the incident and warned of major disruption to services on the East Coast Mainline untill Monday. british Transport Police stated passengers should expect a ”high visibility presence of police officers at stations and on trains” on Sunday.