Woman Pleads with Huntingdon Train Attacker, Says ‘Please Don’t’

A woman on a train in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, credits her plea with stopping an alleged attacker who injured eleven people yesterday evening.

Dayna Arnold, 48, from Bridlington, recounted to the BBC that she was lying on the floor of the carriage when the man approached her with a knife. “He was right over me and he had the knife and he was lunging it at me, but I just put my arm up like this and just said, ‘please don’t’,” she said. “There was just something that shifted in his face and his eyes and he took the knife down.” The incident occurred on a Doncaster to London LNER train on Saturday evening.

Arnold described a chaotic scene after boarding the train with her partner, Andy Gray, at Peterborough. She and Gray initially heard commotion towards the front of the carriage, followed by panicked passengers fleeing towards the rear. After the attacker briefly retreated, he returned to Arnold and stated, “the devil’s not going to win.” Gray assisted other injured passengers, using his belt as a tourniquet. This attack has prompted renewed discussion about safety on public transport.

Anthony Williams, 32, of no fixed abode, has been charged with ten counts of attempted murder and remains in custody. National Rail is working with authorities to ensure the safety of passengers, and a full investigation is underway. You can find more information about rail safety here.

Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the attack and are providing support to those affected.