Brave Rail Employee Endures Severe Wounds During Mass Knife Attack on Express Train
A valiant train staff member who intervened to save passengers during a multiple knife incident on a high-speed train has sustained life-threatening wounds, police stated on Sunday.
Particulars of the Frightening Event
CCTV video allegedly depicts the employee attempting to halt the attacker as the train journeyed between a city and another station in Cambridgeshire. Witnesses recounted a terrifying 14-minute duration after the train departed Peterborough, with bloodied victims fleeing through compartments.
The suspect, a 32-year-old British national from Peterborough, is in custody for questioning. Authorities declared a major incident on the 6:25 pm service from Peterborough to King's Cross in central London.
Crisis Response and Consequences
The incident on Saturday night led to 11 people being cared for in hospital after the train made an unplanned stop at the station in Huntingdon. Five people have now been released from medical care.
A witness filmed the suspect waving a large knife and being subdued with a Taser as he faced police on the station. He was reportedly heard yelling, "End my life, end my life."
“This was a horrific attack that has had a wide impact. Our sympathies go out to the injured and their loved ones – particularly the brave member of rail staff whose family are being supported by specialist personnel,” said a senior police official.
Labor Response and Appeals for Measures
Rail associations were quick to praise employees and demand increased measures. A union official said he would be “seeking urgent discussions with government, rail employers and law enforcement to guarantee that we have the best available support, tools and robust procedures in place”.
A different association representative encouraged the rail company and government “to move quickly to examine security, to help the impacted employees, and to make sure that no incident like this happens again”.
Operator Commended for Rapid Action
The train driver who stopped the service at Huntingdon was reported as being “deeply affected” but “good”, and has been praised by association officials for doing “precisely what was needed”.
“He did not halt the service in the center of two stops where it’s obviously challenging for the first responders to access, but he carried on traveling until he arrived to Huntingdon, where the response was almost already there,” stated a association official.
Further Details
Police said they got the initial emergency reports at 7:39 pm, and the train was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Huntingdon at 7:50 pm.
One witness described initially thinking if the situation was a holiday prank, but quickly understood from individuals' expressions that it was real.
Police have stated there is nothing to suggest the event was a terror-related incident and have asked the public to come forward with any additional details.
Train operations on the affected line are expected to experience disruption until Monday, with passengers recommended to postpone their travel where possible.
Anyone with information that could assist the inquiry are encouraged to contact police by sending a message a specific number with a case code.
