British police say at least 10 people injured in knife attack on train near Cambridge

British police said 10 people have been hospitalized, nine with life-threatening injuries, following a mass stabbing on a London-bound train on Saturday, and that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.

In a statement early Sunday, hours after the attack, British Transport Police also said the stabbings had been declared a “major incident.”

“Ten people have been taken to hospital and nine are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries,” the statement said. “This has been declared a major incident and counter-terrorism police are supporting our investigation as we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation of this incident.”

Emergency services, including armed police and air ambulances, rushed to the scene shortly after they were alerted after 7.30pm local time on Saturday as the train arrived in Huntingdon, a market town a few miles northwest of the university town of Cambridge. The two people were arrested at the station, located about 120 kilometers north of London.

The East of England Ambulance Service wrote in X that it could “confirm that we have transported a number of patients to hospital.”

British Transport Police, who took the lead in the response as they are responsible for safety matters on trains, said the stabbing attack occurred on the Doncaster to London King’s Cross train as it headed to Huntingdon. He did not provide a motive for the attack.

British newspaper The Times reported that a witness described seeing a man with a large knife. The witness told The Times there was “blood everywhere”, with people hiding in bathrooms to escape and some being “stepped on by others” as they tried to flee.

Paul Bristow, mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said in a post on X that he had heard of reports of “horrendous scenes” on the train. Cambridge is located in the county of Cambridgeshire.

In a social media post, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack an “appalling incident” that was “deeply worrying” and urged people in the area to “follow police advice.”

“My thoughts are with all those affected and my thanks to the emergency services for their response,” he wrote.