KNIFE MAYHEM 

Cops under fire over suspect’s 24 hours of knife mayhem before ‘launching Huntingdon train attack’

Anthony Williams, 32, appeared in court on 11 attempted murder counts

POLICE last night faced questions over a suspect’s 24 hours of knife mayhem before he allegedly launched the Huntingdon train attack.

Halloween stabbings of two teens 100 miles apart have been linked to the carnage.

Anthony Williams holding a knife in a barbershop.
Huntingdon train suspect Anthony Williams
 

View of Peterborough city centre, with a large, old stone building with arches on the right, and a tall church tower in the background.
Friday 19:10: Boy, 14, stabbed in PeterboroughCredit: Louis Wood
 

A man in a black jacket holding a knife in a barbershop.
Friday 19:25: Suspect ‘wields knife inside barber’s shop’
The knifeman is suspected to have begun his trail of violence at 7.10pm on Friday by stabbing a 14-year-old boy in Peterborough city centre, where crowds of revellers were celebrating Halloween.

A quarter of an hour later, he is feared to have terrorised staff and customers by brandishing a knife while drinking 16.5% Magnum fortified wine at a barbers in the Fletton area of the city.

He is then alleged to have travelled to London by rail and stabbed a 17-year-old lad on a DLR train at Pontoon Dock station, East London, at 12.46am on Saturday.

The same knifeman is then alleged to have gone back to Peterborough and appears to have returned to the same barbers at 9.25am while still drinking.

He was tasered by cops after quick-thinking driver, Navy Iraq veteran Andrew Johnson, made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon, where the suspect walked from the train as passengers fled.

Anthony Williams, 32, yesterday appeared at Peterborough magistrates’ court charged with ten counts of attempted murder on the LNER Doncaster to London train.

He is also charged with having a large kitchen knife on the train and actual bodily harm on a police officer after allegedly breaking the cop’s nose while in custody following his arrest.

Williams is also accused of attempting to murder the 17-year-old boy at the DLR station and possessing a blade.

He is alleged to have slashed the lad with the large knife on board the late night service heading for Woolwich Arsenal.

Williams was not known to counter-terror cops or MI5 and is said to have a history of mental illness.

He had his hands cuffed in front of him and was flanked by four security guards in the dock yesterday.

He spoke only to confirm his name and mumbled as he gave his address as “no fixed abode”.

Williams was remanded in custody to appear at Cambridge crown court on December 1.

Cambridgeshire Police later issued a statement revealing links between the Huntingdon train horror and the three knife incidents in the build-up to the attack.

‘You all feel threatened now’

The force said the 14-year-old boy stabbed in the first incident was taken to hospital with minor injuries and later discharged.

They added: “The offender had left the scene when the call was made and despite a search by officers and a police dog, he was not identified.”

The knifeman is then believed to have made his way to Ritzy Barbers, where he was apparently seen on CCTV loitering outside before bursting in at 7.25pm with a knife.

Customers were seen in video footage leaping from their chairs and dashing away with staff.

Filomena Campanaro, 52, who runs the business with her husband, said: “He was leaning against the fence, drinking a bottle of Magnum, like he was psyching himself up before pulling a knife out of his bag.

Pontoon Dock DLR station.
Saturday 00:46am: Victim stabbed at London DLR stationCredit: Gary Stone
 

A man opening the door to the Ritzy Barbers in Fletton, with reflections of cars, a dog, and a person in the window.
Saturday 09:25am: Suspect ‘returns to barber’s with knife’Credit: PA
“He came into the barbers and started waving this big blade about.

“Apparently he said something like ‘you all feel threatened now’.

“One of the clients was so scared he locked himself in the kitchen and was praying.

“We reported it and the police said they would come.

“We said it’s Halloween, there’s kids about and there’s a man with a knife.”

Cambridgeshire Police said they received a call at 9.10pm, two hours after the incident.

They said: “At the time of reporting, the man was no longer there and had not returned, so we did not send officers.”

The suspect is believed to have boarded a train to the capital and then made his way across London on to a DLR service heading to Woolwich.

He was allegedly still armed with the large kitchen knife and pulled it from a bag at Pontoon Dock station and stabbed the 17-year-old boy.

Blurred security camera footage of passengers running from a knifeman on a train platform.
Saturday 19:39pm: Terrified passengers run from the train horror at Huntingdon stationCredit: Unknown
 

A low-quality, grainy image of a figure highlighted by a red circle, walking on a train platform.
The knife suspect, circled, climbs over a car park fenceCredit: Unknown
British Transport Police said: “Officers received a report of an incident on a DLR train at Pontoon Dock, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.

“The suspect had left the location.

“Police subsequently identified Williams as a suspect.”

Detectives are trying to establish the suspect’s movements before he turned up again hours later at Ritzy Barbers.

Owner Filomena said she called 999 again after coming “face to face” with the knifeman while walking her dogs.

I was shaking and so scared. He was still in the same dirty clothes and hoodie while drinking.

Barber owner Filomena Campanaro

She said: “He said something to me as I passed him in an alleyway, but I couldn’t hear him as I had music on.

“I was shaking and so scared.

“He was still in the same dirty clothes and hoodie while drinking.

“He leant down to stroke my dog and I pulled them away and ran.

“Then he came back to the barbers with the knife in his pocket.

“The boys all stopped cutting hair and chased him.”

Cambridgeshire Police said: “The second incident was reported to us at 9.25am on Saturday while the man was still at the scene.

“Officers were deployed and arrived within 18 minutes.

“Officers were unable to locate the man or identify him.”

A man with a knife walking on a street at night.
The knife suspect the day before the mass train stabbings
 

A forensic officer in a white suit inspecting an Azuma train at a station platform.
A police scenes of crime officer boards the train at Huntingdon stationCredit: Gary Stone
Cambridgeshire Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its response.

But the watchdog said the referral did not meet the criteria for an investigation.

Former Met Police Chief Supt Simon Ovens said: “There should be an investigation as to whether police missed any opportunities to arrest the suspect.

“Potential issues around his mental health must also be investigated.”

Following the 14-minute train attack, 11 people were treated in hospital for their injuries.

Covered in blood

Six have been discharged, one is stable but is critically unwell and four others are stable.

A second man on the train, a Londoner, aged 35, was also arrested after being wrongly identified as an attacker as he was covered in blood. He was later released.

Train driver Mr Johnson, who was praised for his swift actions, said in a statement yesterday: “The action I took is the same as any other driver.

“I think my colleagues on board were the real heroes and I’d like to pay tribute to their bravery.”

He served in the Royal Navy for 17 years.

LNER said Mr Johnson, working with teams in the Rail Operating Centre in York, contacted a signaller, who took immediate action to divert the service, allowing police to swiftly get to the train.

Andrew Johnson, the train driver and Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran, in a suit, tie, and beret with military medals.
Train driver Andrew Johnson, who was praised for his swift actionsCredit: Unknown