A harrowing scene unfolded on a packed LNER Azuma train from Peterborough to London on Saturday (November 1) when a “knife-wielding maniac” began stabbing passengers at random.
Realizing they had no weapons with which to defend themselves, some passengers recounted the moment when they decided to arm themselves with the only blunt object at their disposal: a Jack Daniels bottle.
The attacker then set their sights on a young girl. Just when he was about to take her life, something unexpected and moving happened: one brave older man stepped in, risking his life, to save her.
The unnamed hero suffered deep gashes to his head and neck as he threw himself between the attacker and the terrified girl.
An older man risked his life to save a young girl after a “maniac” started randomly stabbing passengers on a London train
Image credits: PolitlcsUK
Witness Olly Foster, who was among those trapped inside the carriage, recounted the horror in vivid detail.
“By the time I got to the end of the carriage, I was actually at the back of it and there were about six of us,” Foster told the BBC.
“There was a girl, bless her, who was really really in a bit of a state because the guy actually tried to stab her. And one of the older guys, who’s an absolute hero, blocked it with his head. We’re giving him jackets to keep the pressure on the blood.”
Passengers described scenes of chaos as screams echoed through the carriages and injured commuters rushed to escape. Foster said that people were making their way through the carriage to get away from the suspects, leaving blood all over the chairs as they fled.
The terrified passengers armed themselves with nearby objects, including a Jack Daniels bottle
Image credits: Chris Radburn – PA Images/Getty
At one point, Foster and a handful of others realized they had no weapons to defend themselves.
“We had a Jack Daniels bottle between us and that was it,” he said. “So we’re sitting there with one Jack Daniels bottle looking down this carriage, praying someone doesn’t walk down with a weapon.”
Moments earlier, passengers had come running down the train warning others to flee.
“Run, run, there’s a guy stabbing literally everyone and everything,” Foster recalled hearing. At first, he thought it was a Halloween prank until he saw the blood.
The nightmare lasted between 10 and 15 minutes, though for those trapped inside, it felt like forever.
Nine passengers were left with life-threatening injuries. Only four have been released from the hospital so far
Image credits: Chris Radburn – PA Images/Getty
When the train finally stopped at Huntingdon Station, emergency workers flooded the scene. Photos showed paramedics tending to victims on the platform, medical kits scattered across the ground, and police officers combing through the blood-streaked train cars.
Ten people were taken from the scene, nine of them with life-threatening injuries. Four have since been released from the hospital, according to authorities.
Another passenger, identified only as Gavin, told Sky News that the attacker was running rampant through the carriage wielding a large knife.
“They were making their way through the carriage to get away from the suspects,” he said. “They were extremely bloodied.”
Image credits: Joe Giddens – PA Images/Getty
Reports from the scene said police used the code word “Plato,” typically reserved for “marauding terror attacks,” to respond to the incident.
However, by Sunday, British police confirmed it was not being treated as an act intended to create terror, something that didn’t sit well with some citizens.
“If two people slashing 10 others with knives are not terr*rists what are they? They obviously created terror,” a reader argued.
The perpetrators were tasered and taken into custody. The motive behind the attack remains unclear
Image credits: Joe Giddens – PA Images/Getty
Detective Officer John Loveless identified the suspects as a 32-year-old Black British national and a 35-year-old British national of Caribbean descent. Both were dressed in black and were taken into custody after being tasered by police at Huntingdon Station.
They have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Some readers interpreted the lack of further information on the attackers as a deliberate omission, leading to speculation about their identities.
“The longer it takes for the authorities to release the info on the perpetrators, the more likely it is that they are a member of a protected group,” a reader argued.
Images from the aftermath showed police cars and ambulances lined up outside the station as officers and a dog handler worked alongside the train, now surrounded by police tape.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear.
Beyond the attackers, many have decided to focus on the nameless hero whose actions saved a young girl from a fatal wound.
“He’s an absolute hero,” Foster said. “He put himself between that maniac and the girl, and he paid for it in blood.”
While the investigation continues, passengers and witnesses are left haunted by what they saw, and united in their gratitude for one man’s courage.
“Incredible bravery”: Netizens applaud the man who took stab ounds to protect girl
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