U.K. police charge suspect in train stabbings of 11; 2 remain critical 

A 32-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder after a knife attack Saturday that left 11 people injured on a train traveling to London. 

Six victims remain hospitalized, including two in critical condition. 

Multiple media reports said the suspect, Anthony Williams, entered the train at Peterborough –about 80 miles north of its destination – and began a stabbing spree that lasted until the next stop, or about two minutes. 

Video published by the Daily Mail appeared to show the suspect walking along a train platform holding what looked like a knife as passengers fled from the train cars before the attacker boarded. 

A member of the rail staff who intervened to protect passengers during the knife attack was credited with saving lives and remains one of the victims in critical condition. 

“That man was an absolute hero,” a rail employee told the Daily Mail. “He fought this guy, who had a large knife, to try to stop him hurting any more passengers.” 

The Crown Prosecution Service said Williams has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one count of possession of a bladed article. 

The assault charge stems from when Williams allegedly attacked a police officer while in custody. 

“Our team of out-of-hours prosecutors worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings,” the CPS said in a statement. “We worked closely with British Transport Police to review a huge volume of evidence, including CCTV. The number of charges will be kept under review as this continues to progress.” 

Williams made an initial court appearance Monday and was denied bail because of the seriousness of the charges but did not enter a plea. 

Security services initially upgraded the nation’s threat posture to account for a potential “marauding terror attack,” but that was later downgraded, even as police continued to search for a motive, the Associated Press reported. 

Police said Williams has also been charged with another count of attempted murder in connection with an earlier incident at a light-rail station in east London, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked. 

Authorities said they are also investigating a third attack that may be linked to Williams, according to The Telegraph. 

For now, U.K. police have ruled out terrorism as a motive and said they are not seeking any accomplices. 

However, The Telegraph reported that a spokesman for the prime minister declined to say train travel was categorically safe in a country experiencing racial and immigration unrest. 

Not much is known about the suspect, who is black. It remains unclear whether Williams was born in the U.K. or immigrated, in part because of what some critics have called a government crackdown on discussions of race in the press and on social media. 

Security services said Williams was unknown to counterterrorism authorities but declined to say whether he had a history of serious mental health issues that might have made him dangerous. 

Although the British press has described him as being from Peterborough, north of London, The Guardian reported he has “no fixed address.” 

More than 100,000 people marched in anti-immigration protests in central London in September, reflecting unrest that has rattled the current Labour government. 

“We want our country back, we want our free speech back on track,” Sandra Mitchell, a supporter of immigration reform, told Reuters. 

Supporters of immigration reform contend migrants, particularly those from Islamic countries, have refused to integrate into British society and that the government has unfairly limited freedom of speech for protesters under hate-speech laws. 

“People are saying, is it right to publicize their ethnicity?” Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow rhetorically asked the Daily Mail about Williams’ race. “I think it’s really important that as much information is shared as early as possible because it quashes social media speculation.”