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LAST UPDATE | 3 Nov
THE STABBING OF a 14-year-old boy and two reports of a knifeman seen at a barbers in Peterborough are being investigated as part of the police probe into a mass stabbing on a high speed train.
Cambridgeshire police said that the teenager was non-fatally injured at 7.10pm on Friday, before a man with a knife was seen at a barbers in Fletton 15 minutes later, although this was only reported to police two hours later.
A second report of a knifeman was made at 9.25am the following morning when he was still at the scene, but when police arrived 18 minutes later they could not find him.
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs today that the public will have “many unanswered questions” about the train attacker and what events led up to the incident on board the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train from Doncaster to London on Saturday.
She paid tribute to the “breathtaking bravery” of those on the train, including one of the staff members who put himself in harm’s way and confronted the attacker.
She said: “On Saturday, he went to work to do his job – today, he is a hero, and forever will be. ”
The LNER staff member is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following the stabbings on the high-speed service.
Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy, of British Transport Police (BTP), said CCTV from the train showed the man’s actions “were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives”.
Passengers have spoken of the horror which unfolded shortly after the train left Peterborough station, with one woman saying she felt “very lucky” to be unharmed after begging the man to spare her life when he chased after her.
Dayna Arnold (48) told the Mirror newspaper: “I fell down and I just said, ‘Please don’t kill me’. Something shifted in his face and he just carried on. He said: ‘The devil is not going to win.’.”
Olly Foster, who witnessed the incident, told the BBC an older man “blocked” the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with injuries to his head and neck.
He said other passengers used their clothing to try to stem the bleeding.
Other passengers spoke of hiding in train toilets and the buffet car to protect themselves during the bloody rampage.
There were 13 casualties in total, eight of whom remain in hospital, Mahmood said.
The Home Secretary added: “Once the facts are known, we must examine what more might have been done to stop this horrific event from ever occurring, and whether there are measures that we must now take to better protect the public, on our streets and on our trains.”
Earlier Anthony Williams, 32, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after several people were stabbed on an LNER train from Doncaster to London on Saturday.
He is also charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article.
Separately, Williams is charged with one count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article over an incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of Saturday, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.
He allegedly used a “large kitchen knife” in both attacks, according to court documents.
Williams was not known to the security services or counter-terrorism policing, and had not been referred to the UK Government anti-extremism scheme Prevent, Mahmood told MPs.
The investigation by British Transport Police into the train attack will include the stabbing of the 14-year-old and the incident at the barber’s shop.
Williams appeared in the dock in handcuffs with four security officers alongside him, and spoke softly to confirm his name, age and address.
He was not asked to enter pleas and when asked his address, mumbled: “No fixed abode.”
Opposing bail for Williams, prosecutor Olaide Esan told the hearing: “The defendant has attempted to murder 11 people in total.
“These are serious allegations. These are very serious offences.
“The defendant is a risk to the trains and to the members of the public.”
The assault charge Williams faces relates to him allegedly attacking a male police officer in custody after being arrested, leaving him with a “broken nose”, Ms Olaide said.
Williams has been charged with the attempted murder of Scott Bletcher; Michael Paffett; Kevin Deely; Jonathan Gjoshe; David Presland; Sachin Balakrishnan; Stephen Crean; Samir Zitouni; Rasza Aslam and Scott Green.
He is also accused of the attempted murder of Isaiah Ishmael Idris earlier the same day at a DLR station.
District judge Ken Sheraton remanded Williams into custody to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December.
Saturday’s attack is understood to have started shortly after the train left Peterborough station.
Passengers pulled the emergency alarms on the LNER service and it was diverted to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire Police referred itself to watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the incidents in Peterborough.
The watchdog said it did not meet the criteria for a referral.
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