Police say no evidence the stabbing attack on a London-bound train was a terrorist attack.
LONDON — Two British nationals have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after ten people were injured in a knife attack on a train from London to northern England on Saturday evening, police said.
Of the nine people whose lives are believed to be in danger, four have been released and two “remain in life-threatening condition,” Superintendent John Loveless said in an update Sunday morning.
“At this stage there is nothing to suggest that this was a terrorist incident,” he added, noting that the two suspects, men aged 32 and 35, were born in the United Kingdom and remain at different police stations for questioning.
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said emergency services had “saved lives” and praised the “exceptional courage of train staff and passengers”.
“We now know that this attack is not being treated as terrorism and that two British nationals of British origin have been arrested,” she posted on X.
The identity of the suspects has not yet been released.
Police are working “to quickly establish all of the circumstances and motivations that led to this incident,” Loveless said.
Police and medics rushed to a train station in Huntingdon, northwest of Cambridge, after reports of a stabbing on a London-bound train at 7:42 p.m. GMT (3:42 p.m. ET). The train stopped unexpectedly as emergency services responded, according to British Transport Police and images of the scene on social media.
Cambridgeshire Police, who patrol the area, arrested two people at the scene in connection with the incident, authorities said.
“Eight minutes after a 999 call, two men were in custody,” Loveless added.
A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said it had dispatched numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, a hazard response team and two helicopters to transport “several patients” to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
A large police presence remained in Huntingdon on Sunday morning, with many roads closed around the station. Forensic tents were set up with officers in white overalls spotted in the car park, while the train where the stabbings took place was still parked on the platform.
British Defense Secretary John Healey told Sky News on Sunday that the threat level in the country remained unchanged at “substantial”, meaning a future terrorist attack is considered likely.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “appalling” and “deeply concerning”. He has previously called knife crime a “national crisis”. The number of knife offenses in England and Wales has increased overall since 2011, according to government statistics, although it is 4.5% lower in the past year than in 2019/20.
Data from the National Health Service in England shows that 3,500 cases were recorded in hospitals in 2024/25 due to sharp object assaults, a decrease of 10.4% from the previous year.
King Charles and Queen Camilla said they were “shocked” by the attack and paid tribute to the emergency response.
“Our deepest sympathy and thoughts go out to all those affected and their loved ones,” the king wrote in a statement on Sunday.
Saturday’s violence caused widespread disruption to the rail network. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ alert for the affected line on Saturday, and although some lines reopened on Sunday, the company warned that further cancellations and delays were likely.
In an update early on Sunday, LNER chief executive David Horne said staff were “shocked and saddened” by the attack and praised emergency services for their rapid response.
British Transport Police said the train was operating the 18:25 GMT (2:25 p.m. ET) service from Doncaster, in northern England, to London King’s Cross. Huntingdon is approximately 77 miles north of London.
