Suspect in London-bound train stabbing is accused of two earlier attacks

The suspect in Saturday’s London-bound train stabbing is now being investigated for other alleged crimes, including stabbing two minors in separate incidents.

Anthony Williams, 32, was arrested Saturday in a stabbing that wounded 11 people, including one London North Eastern Railway (LNER) staff member, who was in life-threatening condition, according to British Transport Police (BTP).

Police said they have since charged Williams in connection with four other offenses, including the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy Friday night and the attack of a 17-year-old earlier Saturday, before the train stabbing.

Police on Tuesday afternoon said that a 14-year-old boy was stabbed at 7:10 p.m. Friday in Peterborough’s city center on Henry Penn Walk, adding that the boy was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The suspect fled the scene, and police, despite the help of a police dog, were not able to find him.

A man with a knife also entered a barber shop in Fletton, an area in Peterborough, at around the same time Friday, police said. It was reported to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary two hours later, but the man had left the shop, so officers were not dispatched.

On Saturday at 12:46 a.m., police received a report that a 17-year-old “suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife” on a Docklands Light Railway train at the Pontoon Dock station.

“The suspect had left the location before police arrival,” police said. “BTP subsequently identified Anthony Williams as a suspect and took steps to locate and arrest him that day.”

Hours later at 9:25 a.m., barbers in Fletton reported “a further incident” to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. Police arrived about 18 minutes later, but could not find the suspect.

At 7:42 p.m., police and medics rushed to a train station in Huntingdon, northwest of Cambridge, after reports of a stabbing on an LNER train. The train made an unscheduled stop as emergency services responded, according to police.

A LNER staff member who tried to stop the suspect — later identified by police as Williams — was critically wounded. The staff member, who police hailed as a hero, “remains stable but critically unwell,” police said. Three other victims are in the hospital in stable condition.

Following the attack, Superintendent John Loveless said there is “nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident,” noting that Williams was born in the United Kingdom and is from Peterborough.

BTP detectives are now looking into all five incidents, police said, adding that “active enquiries are being made.”

Williams has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article over the attack on Saturday, according to police. He has also been charged with attempted murder in connection with the Pontoon Dock incident.

“The criminal investigation is a priority for British Transport Police, and we are working closely with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service,” said Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy. “We have also this week initiated measures to increase the visibility of police officers across the railway network to reassure both rail staff and the travelling public.”

Cundy asked anyone who sees “something that doesn’t feel right” to contact the British Transport Police.