Nine Injured in Cambridge Train Stabbings as UK Police Arrest Two

British Transport Police said two men were arrested after the incident and confirmed that counterterrorism police were assisting as investigators tried to determine the motive.

Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said officers were carrying out “urgent enquiries” to establish what had happened, adding that it would take time before further details could be confirmed.

Cambridgeshire police said the attack occurred on the 1825 service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross, with reports of multiple stabbings received at 1939 GMT.

The train stopped at Huntingdon, where armed officers boarded and detained two suspects.

Footage shared on social media showed heavily armed police entering the carriages.

One eyewitness told Sky News that a man wielding a large knife was subdued with a Taser.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it dispatched a major response, sending ambulances, critical care teams, and three air ambulances to Huntingdon Station.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the violence an “appalling incident” and thanked emergency services, though critics noted his government has struggled to contain the steady rise in knife crime across England and Wales.

Official data show knife crime has increased almost continuously since 2011.

Despite the UK’s strict gun laws, knife violence remains a persistent issue.

Starmer has labelled it a “national crisis,” but government measures—such as the seizure or surrender of nearly 60,000 blades—have done little to calm public concern.

Authorities say carrying a knife in public can lead to up to four years in prison, and claim knife murders fell 18% in the past year.

Witness accounts described scenes of chaos and panic.

Olly Foster told the BBC he heard passengers shouting, “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone,” initially thinking it was a Halloween prank.

He said blood covered seats and passengers’ clothes as people tried to help the wounded.

An older man reportedly shielded a young girl from the attacker, suffering head and neck injuries himself.

“It felt like forever,” Foster said.