By Ben Makori
HUNTINGDON, England (Reuters) -Counterterrorism police are helping to investigate the stabbing of 10 passengers on a train in eastern England on Saturday in what the defence minister said appeared to be “an isolated attack”.
Police, who arrested two suspects when the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon around 80 miles (130 km) north of London, said they will hold a press conference on Sunday morning as they seek to understand the circumstances and motivation.
Defence minister John Healey told Sky News on Sunday that there did not appear to be a wider threat to the public after the incident on the London-bound train.
“The early assessment is that this was an isolated incident, an isolated attack,” Healey told Sky News on Sunday.
Ten people were taken to hospital, of whom nine are described as having suffered what are believed to be life-threatening injuries, the police said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it an “appalling incident” which was “deeply concerning”, while Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was “deeply saddened” and urged people to avoid comment and speculation.
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.
Healey told the BBC that he was confident police would soon provide more information.
“They will let us know as much as they can, as soon as they can,” he said.
Witness Olly Foster told the BBC that he was on the train 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.
Britain’s current threat level from terrorism is rated as “substantial” by security services, meaning an attack is “likely”.
After a number of serious attacks in 2017, Britain has had some quieter years in the 2020s, although last month three people were killed when a synagogue was attacked in Manchester.
(Reporting by Ben Makori, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Philippa Fletcher)
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