UK police charge man over stabbing rampage on train
Sam Tabahriti |
British prosecutors have charged a 32-year-old man with 10 counts of attempted murder following a mass stabbing on a London-bound train that left almost a dozen passengers injured.
Anthony Williams has also been charged with one count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article over an earlier incident in east London.
He is due to appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The attack on Saturday evening – which police said was not being treated as terrorism – left 11 people injured, including a member of the train crew who remained in hospital in a critical but stable condition, transport minister Heidi Alexander said.
Five of the injured had been discharged from hospital by late on Sunday.
Alexander told Times Radio on Monday that the suspect had not been flagged to counter-terrorism authorities before the attack.
“I can tell you he was not known to counter-terrorism police, he was not known to security services,” Alexander said, adding she could not comment on whether the man had been known to mental health services.
British Transport Police said officers responded within eight minutes of the first emergency call.
A knife was recovered at the scene and CCTV footage reviewed by detectives showed a train crew member intervening to stop the attacker.
“He literally put himself in harm’s way,” Alexander said.
“There will be people who are alive today because of his actions.”
The suspect was arrested after the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon, about 130km north of London.
Authorities said they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.
Reuters
