8 hours ago
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The stabbing of a 14-year-old boy and two reports of a knifeman seen at a barber’s in Peterborough are being investigated as part of the police inquiry into a mass stabbing on a high-speed train.
Cambridgeshire police said the teenager was non-fatally injured at 7.10pm on Friday, before a man with a knife was seen at a barber’s in the Fletton area of the city 15 minutes later, although this was only reported to police two hours later.
A second report of a knifeman was made at 9.25am the following morning when he was still at the scene, but when police arrived 18 minutes later they could not find him.
In a statement, the force said: “We are aware of three incidents that occurred in Peterborough on Friday evening (31 October) and Saturday morning (1 November). The first incident of a man with a knife at a barber’s in Fletton happened at 7.25pm on Friday but was reported to us at 9.10pm – two hours after the incident occurred.
“At the time of reporting the man was no longer there and had not returned, so we did not send officers, but a crime was raised. The second incident was reported to us at 9.25am on Saturday again by the barber’s in Fletton while the man was still at the scene. 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. There was also a third incident that police also believe may be linked which also happened on Friday 31 October at 7.10pm, where a 14-year-old was stabbed by a man with a knife in the city centre. They were taken to Peterborough city hospital with minor injuries and were later discharged.
“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 [officers] attending.
“We are currently reviewing all incidents in the timeframe to understand whether there were any further potential offences.
“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.”
Earlier, Anthony Williams, 32, appeared at Peterborough magistrates court charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after several people were stabbed on an LNER train from Doncaster to London on Saturday.
He 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 after the stabbings on the high-speed service, while four other people remain in hospital.
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 east London in the early hours of Saturday, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.
He allegedly used a “large kitchen knife” in both attacks, according to court documents.
The investigation by British Transport Police into the train attack will include the stabbing of the 14-year-old and the incident at the barbershop.
