The clock read 7:40 p.m. when a train departing from Doncaster bound for London became the scene of a nightmare. In a matter of minutes, what should have been a routine journey ended in an attack that left ten injured—nine of them critically—and two arrested. The LNER train was brought to an emergency stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire, where armed police stormed in amidst sirens and shouts.

Passengers still don't understand how the journey turned into chaos. Olly Foster, one of them, told the BBC that the first few seconds seemed like a scene out of context."Run, run, there's a guy literally stabbing everyone," he heard before thinking it was "some kind of Halloween prank."

“My hand was covered in blood that had fallen onto the chair I was leaning on,” he said later, still incredulous. In the panic, he saw an older man step between the attacker and a young woman. “The attack felt like it lasted forever, even though it was only a few minutes.”

The emergency call came in at 7:39 p.m. Within moments, the small station in Huntingdon was surrounded by patrol cars, ambulances, and two medical helicopters. Transport officers arrested two suspects, whose identities have not yet been released. Police declared the incident a “major incident” and reported that the counterterrorism unit is assisting with the investigation, although no ideological links have been established at this time.

Inside the train, the fear became tangible. A witness quoted by The Times recounted: “There was blood everywhere as people hid in the toilets.” Passengers blocked doors, threw themselves to the floor, or tried to help the injured with whatever they could find.

Upon arriving at Huntingdon, the horror continued on the platform. “We saw a man holding a large knife after the train stopped. Then we saw him being tased and subdued by police,” witnesses told Sky News. According to another passenger interviewed by the same network, the attacker—a Black man dressed entirely in black and wearing a hood—was shouting “Get down! Get down!” while brandishing a long-bladed knife before being subdued.

Speaking to The Sun, a person at the scene summed it up in stark terms: “There was blood everywhere, it was a horrible, very violent scene. It was like something out of a movie, it didn't seem real, and it caused panic on board the trains.”

Meanwhile, the police deployment extended to the entire area. The station was closed for hours, and the A1307 road, which connects to Huntingdon, was also closed. Dozens of ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Authorities confirmed that ten people were taken to nearby hospitals and that nine are in critical condition.

From the government, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called for “no commentary or speculation” on the motives for the attack, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as “deeply concerning.” Superintendent Chris Casey, a spokesman for British Transport Police, cautioned that the investigation “may take time” and that, at this stage, “it would be inappropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”

While authorities analyze evidence and try to establish a motive, the voices of witnesses remain the most accurate account of the fear. Each story paints the same picture: blood on the seats, confusion, the urge to flee without knowing where to go.