The THREE possible missed chances to stop Huntingdon ‘rail attacker’ revealed: Man accused of attempting to murder 11 is suspected of stabbing boy, 14, waving blade in barbers and knifing man at London station

Police were under fire on Monday night for failing to stop a 24-hour stabbing rampage allegedly carried out by the Huntingdon train attack suspect.

Anthony Williams, accused of 11 counts of attempted murder, is suspected of being behind three stabbing incidents in the 24 hours before he went on a terrifying stabbing spree on a high-speed train.

The 32-year-old man is being investigated over the stabbing of a defenseless teenager in Peterborough city centre, just minutes before the knifeman allegedly burst into a barber shop with a large kitchen knife on Friday evening.

The first call to police came at 7.10pm after a hooded man attacked a 14-year-old boy near a floating bar and restaurant on the Nene River in the city. The teenager survived the attack.

But within minutes the same man allegedly walked into a barbershop in Fletton, Peterborough, at 7.14pm and brandished a 12-inch kitchen knife at customers.

Cambridgeshire Police is facing questions about missed opportunities to stop the attacker after it emerged on Monday that it did not send a single officer to the barbershop, instead asking staff to upload CCTV online. Five hours later Williams allegedly stabbed a man in the face at Pontoon Dock, Docklands Light Railway Station in East London; Police are treating the attack as attempted murder.

Detectives believe he then spent the night in his hometown of Peterborough and returned to the same barbershop at 9.16am on Saturday morning. Police were called again, but when they arrived 18 minutes later the man was gone.

It was later alleged that Williams boarded the King’s Cross train from Doncaster to London at 7.28pm at Peterborough station and then attempted to kill ten people on board.

The man is seen outside the store holding what appears to be a knife after being told to leave the store moments earlier.

When police caught up with the suspect after the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon station, he is accused of violently assaulting a police officer and breaking his nose.

MPs and victims said on Monday that Cambridge police had questions to answer after the Daily Mail revealed chilling footage of the man believed to be the suspect brandishing a knife in a barber’s shop. The knife-wielding man, dressed in black, can be seen yelling and screaming, demanding to know why the customers were laughing at him, and then saying “I’ll give you a lot of time off today” and walking out.

On Monday night, 23-year-old barber Cody Greene questioned why police didn’t act sooner. ‘Why didn’t they believe us until it was too late?’ he asked. Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow said: ‘There is no doubt that the police and emergency services did a fantastic job on Saturday evening.

‘However, as more information is released about this person, there are some questions that authorities need to answer. Has Anthony Williams had any recent contact with local NHS or Council services and the police or prison services?

‘Why did it take the police 18 minutes to reach the second incident at the barbershop?’

On Monday, Keir Starmer thanked the ‘heroic actions’ of train staff, including an LNER member who put themselves in danger to save ‘countless lives’.

Passengers ran through the carriages, barricaded themselves in the toilets in the buffet carriage and behind the shutters. 13 people died, 5 are still in hospital.

One of the passengers, Stephen Crean, suffered six stab wounds as he fought off the knifeman with his fists.

Stephen Crean suffered multiple injuries after a fight with a knife-wielding man at his home in south-west London.

Witness Filomena Campanaro, who lives next door to the barbershop, told the Daily Mail that the same man walked past the barbershop again the next morning.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted the public would have “many unanswered questions” about the attacker and the events that led to bloodshed on the London North Eastern Railway train from Doncaster to London.

But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp pressed the Home Secretary to reveal what police know about the suspect.

Security measures have been increased at the stations. But Counter-Terrorism Policing Chief Laurence Taylor and Senior National Coordinator for Protection and Preparedness Jon Savell have rejected calls to introduce knife belts on the rail network, which has recorded 394 knife and sharps offenses by June 2025.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Police Conduct Office in relation to the incidents.

On Monday Williams appeared in Peterborough Magistrates’ Court charged with 11 attempted murder charges in connection with the train attack and the earlier DLR station attack. He also faces charges of possession of a bladed article and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was remanded in custody until a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December.