The attacker boarded the train at
Peterborough railway station, and the stabbings began shortly after the train left the station at 19:30
GMT. At 19:39,
Cambridgeshire Constabulary, whose headquarters are close to
Huntingdon railway station, received the first
999 call from a passenger on board the train, with the British Transport Police being alerted at 19:42. The police declared the situation to be a
major incident, using the code word "
Operation Plato", which is designed for use in "marauding terror attacks". This was rescinded when it became clear that the incident was not terror-related. As the attack was ongoing, the driver communicated with his control room and
Network Rail signallers who diverted the train to the
slow line, enabling it to stop at the next available station. The train made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon railway station at 19:44. The police estimate that the entire incident lasted 10–15 minutes between the beginning of the stabbings and officers accessing the train at Huntingdon. Multiple passengers locked themselves into the
buffet car (two coaches further back), which the assailant tried but failed to enter. Ten people were taken to
Addenbrooke's Hospital, a
major trauma centre in
Cambridge, for treatment, and another person later self-presented with injuries. Nine of the injured were believed to have had life-threatening injuries. Five of the injured had been discharged by the evening of 2 November. Thirty officers from
Cambridgeshire Constabulary attended the incident alongside officers from British Transport Police. Huntingdon station was closed to the public, all trains in the surrounding area were brought to a halt, and armed officers were deployed to the scene. A witness told
The Guardian that the man shouted "kill me" three times to officers prior to his arrest. Samir Zitouni, a member of the catering crew on the train, was injured in the head and neck and spent two weeks in hospital.
Investigation Police were initially joined by
Counter Terrorism Policing in their investigation, although terrorism was soon dismissed as a motive for the attack.
British Transport Police were later announced as leading the investigation. Police initially identified two men as suspects, On 3 November, police announced that the attacker had been linked to an incident earlier on 1 November, in which someone was attacked at
Pontoon Dock DLR station in London. The following day, police said he was also being linked to three incidents in Peterborough on 31 October and 1 November. In one incident, a 14-year-old suffered minor injuries when he was stabbed in the city centre; in the other incidents, a barber's shop reported a man with a knife. == Suspect ==