Huntingdon train attack may be linked to stabbing of teenage boy in Peterborough just 24 hours before

In once incident at around 7.10pm on Friday, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed by a man with a knife in the city centre, the force said.

The teen was taken to hospital with "minor injuries" but was later discharged.

Cambridgeshire Police said in a statement: "The offender had left the scene when the call was made and despite a search of the area by officers and a police dog, the offender was not identified.

"A crime was raised and an investigation commenced, with scenes of crime attending."

In another incident, a man was allegedly armed with a knife at a barbers in the Fletton area of Peterborough at 7.25pm on Friday but police did not receive the report until 9.10pm.

Officers were called near to the same barbers at around 9.25am on Saturday - the day of the mass train stabbing in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

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Cambridgeshire Police said: "Officers were deployed to the location and arrived within 18 minutes.

"Upon searching the area, officers were unable to locate the man or identify him and a crime was raised."

"We are currently reviewing all incidents in the timeframe to understand whether there were any further potential offences," the force added.

“British Transport Police retain primacy for the overall investigation, which will include these three incidents.

“We voluntarily referred ourselves to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) for independent scrutiny of these incidents, as is standard practice in these cases."

Anthony Williams appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court today charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after several people were stabbed on an London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train from Doncaster to London on Saturday.

The 32-year-old is also charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article.

An LNER staff member is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following the stabbings on the high-speed service, while four other people remain in hospital.

Among the victims is Scunthorpe United defender Jonathan Gjoshe, who is in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the club said.

Separately, Williams is charged with one count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article over an incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of Saturday, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.

He is alleged to have used a “large kitchen knife” in both attacks, according to court documents.

Williams appeared in the dock in handcuffs with four security officers alongside him, and spoke to confirm his name, age and address.

He was not asked to enter pleas and when asked his address mumbled “no fixed abode”.

It is understood he is not known to the security services or counter-terrorism policing and had not been referred to the Government anti-extremism scheme Prevent.

District judge Ken Sheraton remanded Williams into custody to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on December 1.

Saturday’s attack is understood to have started shortly after the train left Peterborough station.

Passengers pulled the emergency alarms on the LNER service and it was diverted to Huntingdon.