9 with life-threatening injuries after UK train stabbing; 2 arrested; motive unclear

UK police say they have arrested two suspects as “a number of people” are taken to hospital and a “large-scale” emergency response is mobilized after a stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire, eastern England.

“We are currently responding to an incident on a train to Huntingdon where multiple people have been stabbed,” British Transport Police say on X, adding that “two people have been arrested.”

Cambridgeshire police say: “A number of people have been taken to hospital.”

“Ten people have been taken to hospital with nine believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries,” the statement says. “This has been declared a major incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are supporting our investigation whilst we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident.”

“We’re conducting urgent enquiries to establish what has happened, and it could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything further,” British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey says. “At this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”

Media reports say nine victims have life-threatening injuries.

A witness describes seeing a man with a large knife and tells The Times newspaper there was “blood everywhere” as people hid in the washrooms.

Some passengers were getting “stamped [on] by others” as they tried to run, and the witness tells The Times they “heard some people shouting we love [you].”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the “appalling” incident is “deeply concerning.”

“My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response,” Starmer says in a statement on X.

“Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police,” Starmer adds, while his interior minister Shabana Mahmood confirms two people have been taken into custody.