Man, 32, accused in attack on London-bound service that injured 11 passengers, including two critically.
Published On 3 Nov 2025
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Prosecutors in the United Kingdom have charged a man with attempted murder after a mass stabbing on a train.
The attack on the London-bound service on Saturday injured 11 passengers, including two critically. The suspect was arrested when the train made an emergency stop in the town of Huntingdon in eastern England.
British Transport Police said on Monday that Anthony Williams, from Peterborough was charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article in connection with the train attack.
The 32-year-old was also charged with another count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in connection with a separate incident at Pontoon Dock transit station on Saturday, police said, adding investigators are “looking at other possible linked offences”.
Police said the stabbings were not being treated as an act of “terrorism”.
Scenes of panic
Williams is due to appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander said on Monday that the suspect was not known to authorities.
“I can tell you he was not known to counterterrorism police. He was not known to security services,” Alexander told Times Radio, adding that she could not comment on whether the man had been known to mental health services.
Police were alerted to an emergency on board the train between Doncaster, a town in northeast England, and London’s King’s Cross Station – a typically busy route – at about 7:40pm (19:40 GMT) on Saturday.
British Transport Police said officers responded within eight minutes of the first emergency call.
The train was stopped at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire, where armed officers backed by police cars, a fleet of ambulances and two air ambulances swarmed the station in the eastern England market town.
Passengers described scenes of panic as bloodied travellers ran from the train.
A knife was recovered at the scene, and CCTV footage reviewed by detectives showed a train crew member intervening to stop the attacker.
“He literally put himself in harm’s way,” Alexander said. “There will be people who are alive today because of his actions.”
The railway staff member is hospitalised in a critical but stable condition.
