A woman who survived a frenzied attack on a UK train reveals harrowing the exchange she had with the suspected knifeman as she begged for her life.
On Saturday (November 1), cops swarmed a London-bound train at 7.39pm following distressed calls of an active knifeman making his way through the carriages.
It is believed the heroic train driver, an army veteran identified as Andrew Johnson, acted fast once he was alerted to a mass stabbing after the train departed Peterborough. The train made an unscheduled stop at a platform in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where passengers and the assailant were met by dozens of emergency service workers.
Armed police then reportedly took down the suspect with a taser and arrested two men in their 30s, though one has since been released with no further action.
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As many as 11 victims were wounded in the ordeal and required hospital treatment, with nine initially considered to be in critical condition.
As of Sunday (November 2), the authorities confirmed one person, understood to be a member of train staff who attempted to intervene in the bloody attack, remains in critical life-threatening condition.
Now, eyewitness accounts and survivors' stories about what happened on their hellish journey are emerging, including that of pals, Danya Arnold and Andy Gray, who told how they narrowly escaped the knifeman while one raced to the aid of a bloodied young man.
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Danya told The Sun how she was in the same carriage as the attacker when she saw him sink his blade into 'anyone he could find.'
Amid the panic and the chaos, the 48-year-old said she ended up coning face-to-face with the suspect.
"I was going with the crowd but then I got knocked into some seats," she said. "I looked back and saw the knifeman running so I slid down to the floor."
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The site manager continued: "He came at me with the knife and I begged ‘please don’t.'
“Then something shifted in his face and he just carried on. I feel very fortunate to still be alive."
But that wasn't her only brush with the suspect, as she claims he returned and gave her a chilling statement.
“Then a minute or so later he came back through," Danya continued, "looked at me again and said ‘the devil’s not going to win’ and continued on.
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“I was waiting cause I could still hear him in the carriage. I heard the doors open and ran off the train."
Moments later, she saw him running before police caught up with him and tasered him 'by the taxi rank.'
Meanwhile, Andy was still covered in blood after using his belt as a makeshift tourniquet for a young victim on the train when he spoke to the outlet.
The project manager said he was ordering drinks and food when he saw a 'sudden commotion' and a 'huge knife plunging into people.'
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Andy became separated from Danya and came across a young man in his early 20s or late teens.
He recalled: "A young lad there was only 19 or 20 and had been cut and stabbed really badly. He had a gash on his arm and had several puncture wounds under his arm.
“He somehow got past me and was panicking walking through saying ‘please somebody help me, I’ve been stabbed.’"
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In fear of a possible artery bleed, Andy discarded his belt to 'string his arm up'.
“The attacker was just stabbing anybody who he could find. I don’t know how it started or why," he added.
Their insight comes as dozens of heroic stories are emerging, including that of an older man who 'blocked' the knifeman from lunging at a young girl while another, named as Stephen Crean, rushed to 'confront' the attacker.
Counter-terrorism officials were initially drafted in to ascertain what happened in the 'major incident', though police have since said it appears an 'isolated attack'.
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A 32-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder.
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