What we know about Huntington train stabbing

Counter-terrorism police are investigating a mass stabbing on a train near Cambridge which left nine people in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A man is said to have been shot with a Taser by police and arrested on the platform at Huntingdon station after witnesses described a man armed with a large knife going on a violent rampage on the train.

Two people were arrested over the stabbings which happened on the 6.25pm train service going from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening, said British Transport Police (BTP).

British Transport Police at one point declared “Plato” – the national code word used by police when responding to a “marauding terror attack”. But the declaration was subsequently rescinded.

Police said there have been no fatalities so far from the attack, with nine people receiving treatment for life-threatening injuries. A tenth person is also in hospital from non life-threatening injuries.

What happened on the train?

Witnesses have described passengers running down the train away from a man with a large knife, with some hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage.

One witness told The Times there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee. “I heard some people shouting we love [you],” the witness added:

Olly Foster, at one point close to the attacker, told the BBC he initially heard people shouting “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone”. He initially thought it might have been a Halloween prank.

Mr Foster said he noticed his hand was “covered in blood” as there was “blood all over the chair” he had leaned on, as people pushed through the carriage.

An older man “blocked” the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with injuries to his head and neck, Foster said – calling the older man “an absolute hero”.

He said other passengers used their clothing to try and stem the older man’s bleeding. He said the incident “felt like forever”.

Wren Chambers, another witness, told the BBC they saw a man who had been stabbed in the arm who shouted “someone’s got a knife”. Mr Chambers ran down the train with others.

Where did it happen and how did it end?

The LNER train left Doncaster for London’s King’s Cross at 6.25pm. Passengers aboard said a man with a knife began stabbing people shortly after the train passed through Peterborough.

Police received calls from people on the train at around 19:40pm. It then made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire, 15 minutes away from Peterborough by train.

The attack is estimated to have lasted 10 to 15 minutes.

Witnesses said they saw police use a Taser on one man holding a knife. Armed police, who boarded the train, arrested two people.

One witness named Gavin told Sky News said the suspect was tasered before he was arrested. “As they got closer to him, [they] started shouting, ‘Get down get down’.

“He then was waving a knife, quite a large knife, and then they detained him. I think it was a Taser that got him down in the end.”

Emergency crews took 10 people to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.

Was it a terrorist attack?

BTP said a major incident was declared. At one point the force declared “Plato”, the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack”.

But declaration was subsequently rescinded, and no possible motive for the attack has been given.

Counter-terrorism officers are supporting the BTP investigation “to establish the full circumstances and motivation” for the incident.

Defence Secretary John Healey said it would not be “helpful” for him to speculate on whether the train stabbings were a terrorist attack.

“The investigation is going, it’s an early stage, and so it’s not helpful for me to speculate,” he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

The UK’s terror level remains “unchanged”, Healey added.

Keir Starmer described the mass stabbing as “deeply concerning”, urging anyone in the area to follow the advice of the police.

BTP chief Superintendent Chris Casey said: “We’re conducting urgent enquiries to establish what has happened, and it could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything further.

“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” he added.

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.