London train stabbing: Police rule out terrorist attack, 32-year-old British man arrestedAmy LeeThe NightlyMon, 3 November 2025 3:25AM
A 32-year-old British man has been arrested and is being treated as the only suspect in a brutal stabbing attack aboard a Doncaster to London train on Saturday (local time).
British Transport Police confirmed that 11 people were hospitalised following the incident, which occurred shortly after the train departed Peterborough station.
Two victims remain in life-threatening condition, while four have since been discharged.
Superintendent John Loveless said on Sunday that the attack is not being treated as terrorism.
“At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident,” he said.
“We continue work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident.
“It would not be appropriate to speculate on the cause.”
Initially, police also detained a 35-year-old British man of Caribbean descent, but he was later released after investigators concluded the 32-year-old suspect acted alone.
The train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon station, approximately 130km north of London, where armed officers made the arrests.
Police declared a major incident and cordoned off the station, which remained closed on Sunday morning with the train still visible on the platform.
A number of officers were positioned around the station and the road directly outside the station’s car park was shut with a number of police vehicles on the road.
It is unclear when the two suspects got on the train.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it an “appalling incident” which was “deeply concerning” while King Charles said he was “truly appalled and shocked”.
Knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87 per cent over the past decade, with 54,587 offences last year alone, a two per cent rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe, according to figures from the UK’s interior ministry.
In her statement, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was “deeply saddened” while urging people to avoid speculation about the incident.
The Government is keen to stop rumours spreading on social media following an incident in Southport in northwest England in 2024, when internet claims over the murder of three young girls sparked days of rioting across the country.
Witness Olly Foster told the BBC that he was on the train which was heading towards London on Saturday evening when someone ran past him saying a man was stabbing “everyone, everything”.
“I put my hand on this chair … and then I look at my hand, and it’s covered in blood. And then I look at the chair, and there’s blood all over the chair. And then I look ahead and there’s blood on all the chairs,” he said.
Another witness told Sky News that a suspect was seen waving a large knife before being tasered by police.
The UK’s current threat level from terrorism is rated as “substantial” by security services, meaning an attack is considered “likely”.
After a number of serious attacks in 2017, the UK has had some quieter years in the 2020s, although last month three people were killed when a synagogue was attacked in Manchester.
– With Reuters, PA
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