British police said 10 people have been hospitalized, nine with life-threatening injuries, following a mass stabbing attack on a London-bound train Saturday evening, and that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.
In a statement early Sunday, hours after the attack, British transport police also said the incident has been declared a "major incident" and that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.
"Ten people have been taken to hospital with nine believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries," it said.
"This has been declared a major incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are supporting our investigation whilst we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident."
The police force also said that "Plato," the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to what could be a "marauding terror attack," was initiated.
That declaration was later rescinded but no motive for the attack was disclosed.
Wren Chambers, who was on the train when the attack happened, told the BBC she initially “heard some screaming and shouting” coming from a carriage or two down.
She recounted, “A minute or so later a man… was running down with a very clear wound, bleeding quite badly on his arm. And I thought it was like some sort of Halloween prank at first. But then he’s shouting that someone’s got a knife, he was stabbed.”
Two people were arrested after the attack, which British Transport Police (BTP) declared “a major incident,” adding that counterterrorism officers were supporting the investigation.
