British police on Sunday ruled out any "terrorist" motive behind the knife attack that injured at least 10 people on a train in eastern England, and for which they arrested two suspects, described as two British nationals.

Here are the main elements known at this stage.

The course of the attack

The attack took place on a train that departed at 6:25 p.m. (local and GMT) from Doncaster in northern England bound for London's King's Cross station.

Police were alerted to an incident on board at around 7:40 PM, and intervened at Huntingdon station, located near Cambridge, about 120 kilometers north of the capital.

British Transport Police (BTP) stated that local police officers "boarded the train and arrested two people." The entire operation took place within eight minutes.

Ten people were hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition.

On Sunday morning, four of them left the hospital, and the life-threatening condition of two others remains critical, said a BTP official, superintendent John Loveless, during a press briefing.

According to a passenger quoted by Sky News, police used a stun gun on the platform to subdue a man armed with a large knife.

King Charles III said on Sunday that he was "absolutely horrified and shocked" by the attack.

The day before, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had described the incident as "extremely concerning".

"Blood everywhere"

Testimonies from train passengers describe the violence of the attack.

A witness quoted by several media outlets said he saw a man running through the train car, his arm covered in blood, shouting, "They have a knife!" Another witness reported seeing "blood everywhere."

Olly Foster, quoted by the BBC, said he initially thought it was a Halloween joke when he heard passengers shouting "Run! There's a guy stabbing everyone."

He described seats covered in blood and a passenger trying to protect a little girl during the incident, which "seemed like it would never end".

Two people arrested

Construction executive John Loveless said on Sunday that police were ruling out any "terrorist" motive at this stage.

He provided some information about the two men arrested on "suspicion of attempted murder" and still in custody.

They are "a 32-year-old Black man of British nationality and a 35-year-old man of British nationality and Caribbean descent." "Both were born in the United Kingdom."

The day before, Commissioner Chris Casey had called on the public not to "speculate on the causes of the incident".

Counter-terrorism services have been brought in to collaborate in the investigation.

On Sunday, the train in which the attack took place was still immobilized in the station and forensic police officers were working on the scene.

The chief executive of the LNER rail company, David Horne, said he was "deeply shocked" by the tragedy. The company also urged passengers not to travel on its lines on Sunday due to ongoing disruptions.

Increase in knife violence

In a country with very strict gun laws, knife violence has increased sharply in England and Wales over the past fifteen years, according to official figures. The Prime Minister has previously described the situation as a "national crisis".

The Starmer government has taken several steps to tighten access to bladed weapons since coming to power in July 2024.

This attack comes a month after the knife attack on a synagogue north of Manchester, where two people were killed, one of them by a bullet fired by police who responded to the scene.

In the summer of 2024, a young British man of Rwandan origin killed three young girls with a knife in a dance class in Southport, northern England. Ten other people, including eight children, were injured.

And a 22-year-old Afghan refugee was charged this week after a knife attack that left one dead and two injured on Monday near London.