UK police say a man arrested over train stabbings is released without charge

LONDON (AP) — Police were questioning a 32-year-old British man Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder over a mass stabbing attack that spread fear and panic on a London-bound train and left 11 people hospitalized.

A second man initially arrested as a suspect was released without charge. Police said they have determined that the 35-year-old was not involved. Police are not treating the stabbings as an act of terror, but have not disclosed a possible motive or the type of knife, or knives, used.

Six people remained in hospitals Sunday, one of them in a life-threatening condition. Police said he is a member of railway staff who tried to stop the attack and saved many lives with his “heroic” actions. Five other injured people were discharged from hospitals.

The men were arrested eight minutes after the first emergency calls were made at 7:42 p.m. Saturday from aboard the train, where passengers had reported scenes of panic and chaos with many running through the carriages and some seeking safety in the toilets.

“This is a shocking incident and my thoughts are with those who have been injured and their families," British Transport Police Superintendent John Loveless said outside the station in Huntingdon in eastern England where the train halted soon after the attack.

“There is nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident," he added.

The train made an emergency stop in Huntingdon, a market town around 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of London. Bloodied and confused passengers spilled out of the train as dozens of police waited, some of them armed.

During the immediate response to the attack, police said that “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to what could be a “marauding terror attack,” was initiated. That declaration was later rescinded.

“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” Loveless said.

The attack took place as the 6:25 p.m. train from Doncaster in northern England to London’s King’s Cross station was about halfway through its two-hour journey, having just departed from a stop at Peterborough.

Passenger Olly Foster told the BBC he heard people shouting “run, run, there’s a guy literally stabbing everyone,” and initially thought it might have been a Halloween prank — Saturday was the day after Halloween. But as passengers pushed past him to get away, he noticed his hand was covered in blood from a chair he had leaned on.

Following reports that some of those on board the train put themselves in harm's way to protect others, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the “exceptional bravery of staff and passengers on the train."