Trigger Warning: Mention details about a deadly attack leading to death.
The gut-wrenching stabbing incident, which occurred on a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train travelling from Doncaster to London King’s Cross in the United Kingdom, has left the nation howling in horror.
The incident occurred shortly after the train departed Peterborough Station in Cambridgeshire at 6:25 pm local time. A man armed with a large knife began attacking passengers at random on the train. The train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon Station in Cambridgeshire after terrified passengers pulled the alarm.
Eleven passengers sustained life-threatening injuries. One victim, an LNER staff member, remained in critical condition as of the evening of November 2 after reportedly intervening to protect others. The staff member’s name remains undisclosed for safety reasons, but he has been described as a hero.
The hero train driver who saved passengers’ lives during a #knife attack is a Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran
Andrew Johnson rapidly diverted the #London-bound train to #Huntingdon station after being alerted to the mass stabbing, enabling emergency services to act fast.#Kent pic.twitter.com/px2bteP0Hv
— MidnightVisions (@MidnightVision5) November 2, 2025
As per Tyla, Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy praised the worker’s actions, describing them as “nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly life-saving.” He added, “This was a horrific attack with far-reaching consequences. Our thoughts are with all those affected, especially our brave colleague and his family.”
Train driver Andrew Johnson made an emergency stop at Huntingdon, a station not on the scheduled route. “I was only doing my job,” Johnson told ITV News. “It was my colleague who’s in hospital, he’s the brave one.” People who spoke to the media said that the scenario was terrible.
Dayna Arnold, 48, told The Mirror UK, “I fell down and begged, ‘Please don’t kill me.’ Something shifted in his face, and he just walked away, saying, ‘The devil is not going to win.’”
The first emergency call was made at 7:42 pm as authorities used the code word Plato, which is a national code word when a terrorist attack is launched. However, later it was clarified that the attack wasn’t connected to any terrorist related ones.
Thomas McLachlan, 19, told BBC News that he saw people “drenched in blood” fleeing the train, while others locked themselves in bathrooms and the buffet car to hide.
There was complete havoc. Passenger Wren Chambers told the BBC that she first heard screams, and then she saw a man running with a deep wound in his arm. “I got up and moved forward down the train after them, trying to get (as) far down the train as they can.” the passenger mentioned.
British police dismissed speculation on Sunday that a mass stabbing attack on a London-bound train that hospitalized 11 people the night before was terrorism-related, saying a 32-year-old British national is the lone suspect. https://t.co/w23xSL20LT pic.twitter.com/RGcee4tgjV
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 3, 2025
Subsequently, 32-year-old Anthony Williams was charged with ten counts of attempted murder. The man is set to be present in court on November 3, 2025. He has also been charged with another incident at Pontoon Dock station in London, which is about 100 miles from Peterborough.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and King Charles from Buckingham Palace also released their official statements mourning the plight of the injured and sent condolences to the deceased and their family.
King Charles said, “My wife and I were truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack that took place on board a train in Cambridgeshire last night.” He also applauded the prompt and swift response of the emergency services, who managed the situation like true heroes.
It’s shocking to witness the UK with so many stabbing-related crimes in recent years, especially post-pandemic in 2020, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Fifteen thousand six hundred eighty-nine stabbings were recorded in London as of 2025. In addition, 51,527 knife crimes have also been recorded in England and Wales.
Stabbing is trending in the UK because 10 people have been hospitalised after a mass stabbing attack occurred on a Doncaster train bound for London’s King Cross on the evening of Saturday, November 1.
While the attacks have been declared a “major incident”, authorities have not… pic.twitter.com/p9Xmbs4Eu7
— Why It Is Trending (@trendingblog247) November 2, 2025
This heartbreaking incident on a train reminds us of the July 7, 2005, London bombings. Known as 7/7 in standard terms, these were four deadly suicide bomber attacks that were carried out by people of the Islamist group, which created havoc around the world with a strong vendetta to destroy the West after 9/11.
During the rush hour at 8:49 am, the attack occurred, and apart from the four suicide bombers, 52 people were killed, and about 800 were severely injured.
