Passengers confronted, distracted and fled from Anthony Williams as he moved through an LNER train wielding a knife, Cambridge Crown Court heard during the trial of the Huntingdon train attacker.
Car delivery driver Raza Aslam told police that Williams appeared to take pleasure in the violence, describing “the greatest delight on his face” and saying his eyes had “expanded with pleasure”.
Mr Aslam said he had become aware of the attack after hearing passengers talk about a man saying “the devil won’t win”. When Williams approached, he grabbed a frying pan after being asked by a group of men to help stop him.
He was stabbed in the hand and said he felt “an immediate loss of energy” in his arm. As Williams was about to “finish me off”, train worker Samir Zitouni intervened by throwing objects at him.
Passengers confronted the attacker
The court heard that Mr Zitouni had tried to slow Williams with a makeshift barricade of items including frying pans and a toaster.
Football fan Stephen Crean was in the café bar when he saw a young girl run past screaming about a man with a large knife. He whispered to others to shut the door before walking towards Williams.
Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said Mr Crean had no weapon and looked Williams in the eyes. Williams allegedly asked him: “Do you want to die?”
Mr Crean later told police he had gone for the knife “to stop him [Williams] cause he’s on a mission”. He was stabbed several times in the head, back, fingers and hip before sheltering in a toilet and calling 999.
In the call played to the jury, a shaken Mr Crean said: “I’ve locked the door. I need help… I’m scared.”
David Presland, 73, was knocked to the floor as he tried to escape. He told police that Williams stabbed him in the back while he was on his hands and knees.
Video shown in court appeared to show Mr Presland raising his hand in a pleading gesture as the attack continued. He suffered wounds including one which broke a rib and punctured his lung.
“I thought I was going to die. I’m very lucky that I survived,” he told officers.
Kevin Deely was said to have shouted “you don’t have to do this” at Williams and thrown an object towards him. He then helped the dazed Mr Presland move away, only later realising that he had also been stabbed.
Mr Deely suffered a scalp wound and an abdominal injury nearly four inches deep, which lacerated his liver.
Another passenger, Scott Green, was stabbed in the side after hearing what he thought was a fight. He grabbed the knife in an attempt to defend himself, damaging muscles and tendons, and was also wounded in the back.
The prosecution said Mr Green’s dog, Poppy, began barking aggressively at Williams, who then ran away. Mr Green later recalled “literally just carnage” as passengers fled through the train.
He also described how a woman pulled him into a toilet, telling police she had “probably saved my life”. She tried to make light of the situation by saying: “I don’t usually get in with men whom I just first met in a toilet.”
Huntingdon train attack trial
The court heard that ten people were attacked on the train, while four others had been targeted at different locations from the previous day.
The alleged rampage began when a 14-year-old boy was stabbed at a footbridge in Peterborough on October 31. Two men, Dawid Taborski and William Ogelby, were then attacked nearby but escaped injury.
A 17-year-old was later stabbed in the face while travelling on the Docklands Light Railway in east London. Williams then boarded an LNER service from Peterborough at 7.26pm, carrying a large kitchen knife and a bottle of fortified tonic wine.
Passengers were seen on footage fleeing through the carriages, hiding in toilets, store cupboards and beneath seats. Mr Paxton said others had tried to defend themselves or calm Williams by asking why he was attacking them and telling him they loved him.
The train driver arranged an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where Williams was arrested.
Williams, 33, is appearing in court by videolink from Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire. He admits offences including attacking people with a knife and intending to cause really serious harm, but denies 14 counts of attempted murder.
Mr Justice Calver told jurors they must decide whether Williams intended to kill those he attacked, as the prosecution alleges. The trial continues.
