A man charged over a mass stabbing on a busy train in Cambridgeshire and a separate attack at a London station earlier that day has been remanded in custody.
Anthony Williams (32), appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday 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.
An LNER staff member is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following the stabbings on the high-speed service, while four other people remain in hospital.
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Separately, Mr 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.
[ Train attack fuels growing fear in Britain of mass stabbingsOpens in new window ]
He allegedly used a “large kitchen knife” in both attacks, according to court documents.
Mr 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”.
It is understood he is not known to the security services or counter-terrorism policing, and had not been referred to the government anti-extremism scheme Prevent.
Opposing bail for Mr 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 Mr 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.
District judge Ken Sheraton remanded Mr Williams into custody to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on December 1st.
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.
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 the train crew member intervening to stop the attacker.
Deputy chief constable Stuart Cundy, of British Transport Police, 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.
British transport police declared a major incident when the train came to a stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire,.
Taxi driver Viorel Turturica told ITV News he was parked next to the station when he heard a commotion from a man he believes was the suspect.
“He was holding the knife straight and asking the police to kill him,” Mr Turturica said.
“He repeated three or four times ‘kill me, kill me, kill me’.”
Other witnesses described seeing a man waving a knife being shot with a Taser by police before being detained. – Agencies
