HE JUST WALKED IN WITH A K.N.I.F.E—AND NO ONE STOPPED HIM. 24 HOURS LATER, HE SLASHED 11 PEOPLE ON A TRAIN.
😱 CCTV just dropped the most TERRIFYING 47 seconds you’ll see all year: A wild-eyed man BURSTS into a packed barbershop, blade flashing, screaming chaos… then vanishes.
The next night? He boards a London train and unleashes HELL.
🔪 One guard fights for his life. 🩸 Blood on the seats. 🚨 Police KNEW he had a knife—why was he still free?
This isn’t Hollywood. This is Britain. RIGHT NOW.
Watch the EXCLUSIVE barbershop footage BEFORE it’s taken down. One click could save the next victim. 👉
In a development that’s sent shockwaves through Britain’s already jittery public, newly released surveillance footage has captured the harrowing moment a knife-wielding suspect stormed into a local barbershop, terrorizing customers and staff just 24 hours before unleashing a brutal mass stabbing on a crowded London-bound train. The suspect, 32-year-old Anthony Williams from Peterborough, now faces 11 counts of attempted murder after a frenzied attack that left 11 people injured, including a heroic train guard in critical condition.
The grainy CCTV clip, obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail and widely circulated on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), shows Williams—clad in dark clothing and appearing agitated—pacing erratically outside Ritzy Barbers on Queens Walk in Fletton, a working-class suburb of Peterborough, at approximately 7:14 p.m. on Friday, October 31. Moments later, he bursts through the door, brandishing what witnesses described as a “huge kitchen knife,” waving it menacingly as barbers and clients scatter in panic. The footage, lasting less than a minute, depicts Williams shouting incoherently, his movements jerky and unpredictable, before he exits the shop, only to return briefly with a plastic bag—possibly to swig from a bottle—before re-entering and escalating the threat.
No injuries were reported from the barbershop incident, but the close call has ignited fierce criticism of local police response times and protocols. Cambridgeshire Police received a report of the intrusion two hours after it occurred, around 9:25 p.m., but dispatched officers only arrived 18 minutes later—by then, Williams had vanished. “We are treating this as a potential missed opportunity,” a police spokesperson admitted in a statement on Monday, as investigators probe links to three other knife-related episodes in Peterborough over the Halloween weekend.
The barbershop scare was just the tip of a chilling iceberg. Police now believe Williams may have been on a violent spree leading up to the train attack. At 7:15 p.m. on the same Friday—mere minutes before the barbershop intrusion—a 14-year-old boy was stabbed in Peterborough city center, suffering minor injuries to his arm and torso. The teen was treated at a local hospital and released, but the assailant slipped away despite a canine-assisted search by officers. Witnesses described the attacker as a “frantic man in his 30s” matching Williams’ build, fueling speculation that the incidents were connected.
Adding to the timeline of terror, Williams allegedly resurfaced at the same barbershop the following morning, Saturday, November 1, at around 9:25 a.m., again reported with a knife in hand. Officers responded promptly but found no trace of the suspect, who had melted into the bustling Saturday crowds. “It’s like he was testing the waters, building up to something bigger,” said Filomena Campanaro, a neighbor who lives next door to Ritzy Barbers and caught a glimpse of the morning disturbance. “He walked right past my window, knife out, looking like a man possessed.”
By evening, Williams had escalated from random threats to mass violence. At approximately 7:30 p.m. GMT, he boarded an LNER high-speed train at Peterborough station—the 18:25 service from Doncaster to London’s King’s Cross, carrying dozens of passengers, many returning from a Nottingham Forest soccer match against Manchester United. As the train pulled out, Williams, armed with the same large kitchen knife recovered at the scene, began a rampage through the carriages, stabbing indiscriminately.
Eyewitness accounts paint a scene of pure pandemonium. “I heard screams—’Knife! Run!’—and then blood everywhere,” recounted Olly Foster, a 28-year-old passenger from London, who was traveling with friends after the match. Foster described hiding behind seats as Williams slashed at anyone in reach, leaving a trail of gore on the upholstery. Amira Ostalski, 22, huddled in a toilet cubicle with her friend, whispering prayers as the assault unfolded just outside. “It felt like eternity. I didn’t know if he’d break in next,” she told BBC News, her voice still trembling days later.
Among the victims were Jonathan Gjoshe, a 22-year-old Scunthorpe United footballer, stabbed in the leg and back while trying to shield a young woman; and Stephen Crean, a Nottingham Forest supporter, who crawled into an empty lavatory after multiple strikes to his hand, head, and torso. Crean, 35, later recounted locking the door and applying pressure to his wounds with his shirt, emerging only after the train screeched to an emergency halt at Huntingdon station, about 10 minutes into the ordeal.
But the true heroism emerged from an unlikely source: an unnamed LNER guard who, armed only with a fire extinguisher, charged at Williams to halt his advance. “He ran toward the danger, not away from it,” praised Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a somber address to Parliament on Monday. The guard, who sustained “grievous injuries” to his arms and chest, remains in critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. “On Saturday, he went to work to do his job—today, he is a hero, and forever will be,” Mahmood added, her voice cracking as she paid tribute.
The train driver, Andrew Johnson, 48, from Peterborough, also drew acclaim for his quick thinking. Alerted by panicked passengers who triggered the emergency alarm, Johnson diverted the service to Huntingdon, where armed officers swarmed the platform within eight minutes of the initial 7:39 p.m. call. Williams was Tasered and subdued after reportedly shouting “Kill me!” three times at approaching officers, a knife still clutched in his hand. A second man, initially arrested in the chaos, was released without charge on Sunday.
Williams’ court appearance at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday was brief and tense. Dressed in a gray tracksuit, the suspect—described by locals as a “quiet loner” with a history of odd jobs—spoke only to confirm his name and address. He was remanded in custody, facing charges of 11 counts of attempted murder from the train attack, plus one additional count related to a separate stabbing at Pontoon Dock DLR station in east London earlier that Saturday morning, where a passenger suffered facial lacerations. His next hearing is set for December 1 at Cambridge Crown Court.
As of Tuesday, five victims remain hospitalized, with the guard’s condition listed as life-threatening. The other injuries range from superficial cuts to deep wounds requiring surgery, but all are reported stable. British Transport Police (BTP), leading the probe with support from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, have ruled out terrorism as a motive—Williams had no known ties to extremist groups, counter-terror watchlists, or the Home Office’s Prevent program. “This was a lone actor, driven by personal demons we are still unpacking,” said BTP Chief Superintendent Simon Bray in a press briefing.
Yet the investigation’s scope has widened dramatically. Beyond the barbershop and teen stabbing, detectives are scrutinizing a fourth incident: Williams’ alleged early-morning attack at Pontoon Dock, where BTP had flagged him as a suspect hours before the train boarding. “We identified him pre-train, and steps were taken to locate him,” a BTP spokesperson confirmed, raising eyebrows about why he slipped through the net. Questions swirl over police handling—why no immediate dispatch to the initial barbershop report? Why no citywide alert after the teen stabbing? Critics, including shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, have demanded an independent review, labeling it a “catalogue of failures that could have saved lives.”
The attacks come amid Britain’s escalating knife crime epidemic. Home Office data shows offenses rose 2% to 54,587 in 2024, an 87% surge since 2011—the highest in Europe. Urban centers like London and Manchester bear the brunt, but rural Cambridgeshire isn’t immune; local stabbings jumped 15% last year alone. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, touring the Huntingdon site on Sunday, vowed tougher sentencing and more stop-and-search powers, but activists decry it as “policing on the cheap” without addressing root causes like poverty and mental health cuts.
Williams’ background offers few clues to his descent into violence. Neighbors in his modest Peterborough flat described him as reclusive, occasionally seen muttering to himself on walks. No prior convictions for violence, though unconfirmed reports suggest mental health episodes in his 20s. “He kept to himself, never caused trouble—until now,” said one anonymous resident. Forensic teams are combing his devices for digital footprints, while psychologists weigh in on possible undiagnosed conditions fueling the spree.
The human toll extends beyond the physical. Families of the injured, like Gjoshe’s Scunthorpe United teammates, have rallied with fundraisers topping £50,000 in 24 hours. Nottingham Forest fans, many among the victims, lit candles at the City Ground in a vigil Monday night. King Charles III, in a rare personal statement from Buckingham Palace, expressed being “truly appalled and shocked,” extending sympathies to “all those affected and their loved ones.”
Huntingdon Mayor Audrey McAdam called it “like a horror film unfolding on our doorstep,” urging community healing sessions. LNER has boosted patrols on services and offered counseling to passengers, while Transport Minister Heidi Alexander announced a rail safety audit.
As Williams awaits trial, the footage from Ritzy Barbers serves as a stark reminder: In an age of ubiquitous cameras, prevention hinges on action, not just observation. “We saw the monster coming,” sighed one barbershop client, whose chair was inches from the blade. “Why didn’t we stop him?”
The probe continues, with BTP appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information is urged to call 101, quoting Operation Quill. For now, a nation mourns its wounded heroes—and braces for answers that may never fully satisfy.
