Multiple people stabbed on train in cambridgeshire England . November 1st 2025

[tedtink]

1h ago18.29 GMT
As part of the investigation detectives are looking at the health history, especially any mental health history, of the suspect they have in custody as they try to establish a motive, the Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd reports.

Terrorism has been ruled out and police are looking at whether or not the suspect, who boarded at Peterborough minutes before the stabbing rampage, was known to other authorities before the attack.

 

[Skigh]

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1h ago18.29 GMT
As part of the investigation detectives are looking at the health history, especially any mental health history, of the suspect they have in custody as they try to establish a motive, the Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd reports.

Terrorism has been ruled out and police are looking at whether or not the suspect, who boarded at Peterborough minutes before the stabbing rampage, was known to other authorities before the attack.

I can see this being similar to Valdo Calocane who killed university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and school caretaker Ian Coates.
Someone who never should have been allowed out in public .

 

[Bluebear15]

I suspect the issue is that the views of the psychiatrists who maybe see patients on a weekly basis are allowed to overrule those of the mental health nurses who deal with them on a daily basis.

Mental health nurses don't have medical degrees or training. It's only the doctors who can diagnose and prescribe, so their opinion is most valid.

 

[Sweeper2000]

Ahhh I really do hope they all pull through OK and are supported after the fact. I know the majority have been released from medical care with two still 9n life threatening condition.

 

[Sweeper2000]

Just so people know the process for being released after deprivation of liberty due to poor mental health is supposed to be a very thorough process and doesn't rely on any one person or doctor. It is supposed to involve input from all persons who cared for them. It is supposed to involve multi disciplinary evaluation as nearly all severe mental health care is supposed to involve. Including post release supervision. Here's a link to the process with some quotes.

• "principle 5: there should be ongoing communication between hospital teams and community services involved in onward care during the admission and post-discharge
• principle 6: information should be shared effectively across relevant health and care teams and organisations across the system to support the best outcomes for the person"

Discharge from mental health inpatient settings

www.gov.uk

Sometimes though we see problems that occur from effective and exhaustive information sharing between different teams. Sometimes they might miss a page containing very relevant info and things like that. Was present in the southport stabbings as an example and I believe his parents played a role there as well.

 

[Skigh]

Mental health nurses don't have medical degrees or training. It's only the doctors who can diagnose and prescribe, so their opinion is most valid.

Just as in ordinary health care,nurses who are with the patient daily and get to know their patient have a much better understanding of how they function and how symptoms might fluctuate. I would think this would be even more important in mental health care especially if a patient might be able to mask or fake certain behaviour in front of a doctor.

 

[Serononin]

Video from a train employee who was at the platform as the train came in. He also explains how once the emergency alarm is pulled, the driver has only a matter of seconds to decide what to do before the train comes to an automatic emergency stop. He had to contact the control and get diverted to a platform and over ride the emergency stop to keep the train moving.

I think all the train staff, emergency services and civilians involved have all been so brave in such a terrifying situation.

I'm sure these guys don't get paid nearly enough to be risking their lives, either

 

[Skigh]

I'm sure these guys don't get paid nearly enough to be risking their lives, either

You could apply that logic to anyone who works with or amongst the public.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I suspect the issue is that the views of the psychiatrists who maybe see patients on a weekly basis are allowed to overrule those of the mental health nurses who deal with them on a daily basis.

I don't work in the UK, but here in the US, the psychiatrist is the team leader and the decision to discharge a patient is a medical one. The bottom line is that no one can predict what someone else will do. People will point to cases where someone was released and went on to kill while ignoring the literal thousands of cases of people being released and living a normal life where they don't harm anyone. Having a disease like schizophrenia should not be a life sentence just based of what "could" happen, especially when we know that most murderers don't have schizophrenia. Many with psychosis don't even have schizophrenia. Many are high or their psychosis is the due to substances. So to me, it would be like locking up everyone who's ever smoked marijuana because if they do it again, they *could* become psychotic. That doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Skigh]

I don't work in the UK, but here in the US, the psychiatrist is the team leader and the decision to discharge a patient is a medical one. The bottom line is that no one can predict what someone else will do. People will point to cases where someone was released and went on to kill while ignoring the literal thousands of cases of people being released and living a normal life where they don't harm anyone. Having a disease like schizophrenia should not be a life sentence just based of what "could" happen, especially when we know that most murderers don't have schizophrenia. Many with psychosis don't even have schizophrenia. Many are high or their psychosis is the due to substances. So to me, it would be like locking up everyone who's ever smoked marijuana because if they do it again, they *could* become psychotic. That doesn't make sense to me.

I would have thought that a patient's past history would be important in making decisions about some cases. If someone has a history of being violent when not on medication and monitored then the conditions for discharging them would be different for someone who has never shown violent behaviour.

 

[Skigh]

Moment innocent man screams 'it's not me' as police Taser him

Shocking footage shows the moment a man walked down the train platform at Huntingdon - where the train driver was forced to make a diversion - only to be struck down by police with a taser.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Dramatic footage shows the moment a train passenger screamed 'it's not me' as he was tasered by police officers who mistook him for the Huntingdon knife attacker.

Two suspects, both British nationals, were initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Saturday night after 11 victims were injured by a knifeman on the LNER service from Doncaster to King's Cross.

One 35-year-old man has since been released with no further action and a 32-year-old man is being treated as the only suspect.


Thank goodness it was a taser, not a gun . I am still surprised it took so long to inform the public that there was only one attacker.

 

[Sweeper2000]

I would have thought that a patient's past history would be important in making decisions about some cases. If someone has a history of being violent when not on medication and monitored then the conditions for discharging them would be different for someone who has never shown violent behaviour.

The normal route in such circumstances if they have been cleared for community care is for them to be monitored but such a case would be considered as a high level of risk so would require very good reason for discharge from care. As an example of the opposite is someone who had a single bout of Ill mental health and maybe went berserk as a result of it but since treatment and previously had no indication of risk to other. In other words the illness was a one off bout.

 

[sriraaacha]

Yes I too have felt this like for quite while. I think women on some level have always felt fearful of some sort of attack when out alone, especially at night. I don't go out at night alone at all anymore but I think now anyone could be at risk with more random attacks occurring. The world seems full of hate and like you say it seems to be getting worse.

I think this applies to men too. If there are random attacks happening they seem to be just that... random, meaning anybody can be targeted and nobody is really safe anymore.

 

[UK Girl]

Moment innocent man screams 'it's not me' as police Taser him

Shocking footage shows the moment a man walked down the train platform at Huntingdon - where the train driver was forced to make a diversion - only to be struck down by police with a taser.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Dramatic footage shows the moment a train passenger screamed 'it's not me' as he was tasered by police officers who mistook him for the Huntingdon knife attacker.

Two suspects, both British nationals, were initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Saturday night after 11 victims were injured by a knifeman on the LNER service from Doncaster to King's Cross.

One 35-year-old man has since been released with no further action and a 32-year-old man is being treated as the only suspect.


Thank goodness it was a taser, not a gun . I am still surprised it took so long to inform the public that there was only one attacker.

It never made sense because I am local and all witnesses spoke about the man in black with a beard and the knife. When speaking about the person arrested it was only mentioned about him. It never did make sense about the second man.

 

[UK Girl]

I live between Peterborough and Huntingdon and honestly I am so proud of EAASS, MAGPAS, The police for arresting him just 8 minutes after the calls and to everyone involved last night. Huntingdon is just a small market town and isn't used to anything like this. Well done also to the driver for swapping tracks when likely in a state and to the Conductor you are a hero. I sincerely hope that you make it.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I would have thought that a patient's past history would be important in making decisions about some cases. If someone has a history of being violent when not on medication and monitored then the conditions for discharging them would be different for someone who has never shown violent behaviour.

There's a whole range of possibilities, at least in the US. But regardless, most would be discharged under a community commitment, which means they'd be monitored with regard to medication. Keeping someone locked up forever is very rare, unless they've committed murder. Even then, it's not a sure thing. If someone has been violent, it is taken into account, but that doesn't mean they won't be released.

But I think we're jumping the gun. As far as I know, we don't know this is a case like that, do we?

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

The normal route in such circumstances if they have been cleared for community care is for them to be monitored but such a case would be considered as a high level of risk so would require very good reason for discharge from care. As an example of the opposite is someone who had a single bout of Ill mental health and maybe went berserk as a result of it but since treatment and previously had no indication of risk to other. In other words the illness was a one off bout.

The good reason is often just that they are no longer an immediate danger to themselves or to others, in the US. If someone can be monitored in the community, they will likely be discharged. You can't keep someone locked up because they *may* cause others harm *if* they don't take meds. That would be like keeping anyone who's ever used drugs in prison for life because they *may* use drugs again and cause others harm. It would be like making a DUI a life sentence.

In the US, the mentally ill have rights to the least restrictive setting in which they can get care. If they're stable with medications and community monitoring will ensure they stay on meds, then they're eligible for discharge.

 

[Sweeper2000]

There's a whole range of possibilities, at least in the US. But regardless, most would be discharged under a community commitment, which means they'd be monitored with regard to medication. Keeping someone locked up forever is very rare, unless they've committed murder. Even then, it's not a sure thing. If someone has been violent, it is taken into account, but that doesn't mean they won't be released.

But I think we're jumping the gun. As far as I know, we don't know this is a case like that, do we?

It's similar here. You are also correct In saying jumping the gun a bit. Although it fits a known pattern.

 

[mickey2942]

This is horrific. Anyone else feel like that whole world is going mad? It's enough to make you never want to leave your house!

It is sad. I have actually felt this way for years, ever since a teacher was kidnapped while on a morning run in a small town in Montana. And a young girl, was running during the day, and kidnapped. We used to worry about running at night. Now, just running in broad daylight is unsafe.

Back to this crime, so random, on a train, boom, random man starts stabbing.

There are so many Christmas markets/parades in Europe. And in the last few years, they have been a target of mayhem, either being destroyed by a random car ramming and killing people, (which also happened here in the United States a few years ago), and random knife attacks. Who would want to go?

Even a mundane grocery shopping trip can turn into a massacre now.

I don't have an answer. It is the definition of "terrorism", when people are afraid to leave their homes...

Terrorism - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[seasideForest]

The term "British nationals" makes it clear to me.

Except the only British national actually mentioned has been released without charges, as not involved.
ETA I see in other places both described as British nationals.
Nonetheless, one innocent.