Two people are in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in a “senseless” attack by a stranger at Kennington Underground Station on Wednesday night.
It was the second brutal knife attack to take place on London’s transport network on Wednesday - coming just hours after a knifeman stabbed a passenger on a busy train carriage near Beckenham Junction around 4pm, in front of horrified onlookers.
Police continue to hunt both attackers.
Officers and paramedics rushed to Kennington Tube Station around 10.35pm, to reports a man had been stabbed on the northbound platform.
Another man is believed to have been knifed as he “bravely” stepped in to try and stop the attack.
Outside #kennington station tonight pic.twitter.com/cb34A6GtXh
— C.J. Fitzpatrick (@C_J_Fitzpatrick) March 28, 2024
The attacker had left the area by the time police arrived.
“The injured victims were taken to hospital, where they remain in a critical but stable condition,” said a British Transport Police spokesperson on Thursday.
One victim was stabbed while the other sustained slash wounds. They are not believed to know the attacker.
A major investigation has been launched by police, but no arrests have yet been made.
BTP Detective Inspector Paul Attwell said: “We understand that people will be worried by this senseless attack.
“Our teams have been working throughout the night, aided by CCTV footage, forensics and detailed accounts from witnesses at the scene.
“We believe that one of the victims was injured after bravely stepping in to try to prevent the attack.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We treated two patients at the scene before taking them both to a major trauma centre as a priority.”
BTP confirmed the incident is not believed to be linked to the stabbing on a Southeastern train at Beckenham Junction which happened on Wednesday afternoon, and which was captured in shocking mobile phone footage.
The victim of the Beckenham attack also remained fighting for his life in hospital on Thursday.
Eyewitnesses reported a “huge” police and ambulance presence at Kennington Underground Station on Wednesday evening, as passengers were evacuated.
“They evacuated us because someone was stabbing people in the station,” one eyewitness wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Two victims looked stable when they were pulled out the station to the ambulance I hope they hang on though one looked more serious than the other apparently they were random.”
He described the scenes as “crazy”.
“Pray whoever the victims are they pull through, this violence needs to stop and be analysed at the root cause, not just reactively but proactively,” he added.
Another evacuated passenger said the station was “packed with police and paramedic crews”. “Police and ambulance charging down the stairs talking about injured people,” they added.Glynn Barton, TfL's Chief Operating Officer, said on Thursday: “Last night, our staff assisted the emergency services following an incident at Kennington station.
“The station is now open and services are running normally. The safety of all our customers is always our top priority and we continue to assist the British Transport Police with their investigation.”
If you have information that could help the police, please contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 728 of 27 March.
