Huntingdon suspect could be linked to knife crimes in hours before train rampage

Police are investigating whether the man accused of trying to kill 10 people during the Huntingdon train attack is linked to a string of knife incidents in the hours before the bloody rampage.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Anthony Williams, 32, was charged yesterday morning with 10 counts of attempted murder after an attack on an LNER train to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening. He has also been charged with one count of attempted murder over an incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of Saturday, where a victim was slashed in the face with a knife.

Detectives are now also investigating whether the suspect is linked to another three knife incidents which took place in Peterborough in the run-up to the attack on Saturday.

Cambridgeshire Police said a 14-year-old boy was stabbed on Friday evening in the city centre. He was taken to hospital and was said to have suffered minor injuries.

Fifteen minutes later, a knifeman entered a barber’s in Fletton, Peterborough, although the incident was only reported to police two hours later. A second report of a knifeman at the same barber’s shop was made at 9.25am the next day. When police arrived 18 minutes later, officers could not find the suspect at the scene.

The three terrifying incidents will form part of the British Transport Police’s investigation into the Huntingdon train horror, detectives said yesterday.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs yesterday that the public will have “many unanswered questions” about the train attacker and there is “much more” the government could be doing with “new and emerging technology” to tackle knife crime.

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.”