British police have opened an investigation into a horrific mass stabbing on a London-bound train that left ten people injured, nine of them critically, in what authorities are calling a “deeply concerning” incident.


The attack took place on Saturday evening aboard a train traveling from Doncaster, northern England, to King’s Cross station in London. The service was forced to stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire after chaos broke out on board.


According to police, ten victims were rushed to hospital, with nine reported to have sustained life-threatening injuries. Two suspects were arrested at the scene, and counter-terrorism officers have joined the investigation. Officials have yet to disclose the suspects’ identities or motives.


AFP journalists reported that forensic teams and officers worked through the night at Huntingdon station, combing the scene for evidence. Witnesses described scenes of panic as passengers fled through the carriages.


One passenger, Olly Foster, told the BBC he initially thought it was a Halloween prank until people started running and shouting, “Run, run—there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone.”
“But then people started pushing through the carriage,” he recalled, saying his hand was “covered in blood” from someone who had been attacked.


Foster added that an older man intervened to protect a young girl, blocking the attacker. “It felt like forever,” he said, though the rampage lasted only minutes.


Other witnesses told Sky News they saw a man wielding a large knife on the platform after the train stopped. They described officers tasering and restraining the suspect before making arrests.


Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “appalling” and “deeply concerning.” London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which operates the route, advised passengers not to travel on Sunday, warning that services might face cancellations or short-notice disruptions.


Knife crime has become a growing concern across England and Wales, with government data showing steady increases since 2011. Despite the UK’s strict gun laws, stabbings have continued to rise—something Starmer has called a “national crisis.”


The Labour government recently announced that nearly 60,000 blades had been “seized or surrendered” as part of its plan to halve knife crime within the next decade, the Home Office said on Wednesday.


The train attack follows a series of violent incidents across the UK. In early October, two people were killed—including one accidentally shot by police—during a stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester. Just last week, a man was charged in London with murder after a daylight stabbing that left one person dead and two others injured.


Police say investigations into the latest attack are ongoing, with extra security now deployed across major transport hubs nationwide.