What we know so far about the Beckenham train stabbing

A teenager has been arrested after a man was stabbed and left with life-threatening injuries while on a train in south London.

Reports of two men fighting while entering the train saw officers from British Transport Police (BTP) rush to Beckenham Junction station alongside colleagues from the Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service on Wednesday afternoon.

Shocking footage of the incident was shared on social media, showing a man holding a large blade attacking someone on the floor.

What we know

BTP have confirmed to Yahoo News UK that a 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. A knife has also been recovered as part of the investigation. The victim, a man in his 20s, was taken to hospital and is in a critical but stable condition.

The incident took place after two men boarded a train at Shortlands railway station in Bromley just before 4pm on Wednesday. In the footage, a man wearing a black hooded jacket, black trousers and a face mask is seen holding a large blade, and seemingly lunging at a man on the floor with the knife.

Onlookers can be heard urging the man to stop, while others are heard calling the police to alert them of what was happening and where they were. Some passengers stayed in their seats, while others could be heard screaming and running to the other end of the carriage. The footage also shows that the incident took place in broad daylight, shortly before the evening rush hour.

Train services in the area were disrupted until around 6.30pm as police dealt with the incident. A Southeastern trains spokesperson said they were assisting BTP with their investigation and providing CCTV footage to officers.

BTP’s assistant chief constable Allan Gregory described the stabbing as “incredibly concerning” and said there would be an “enhanced police presence at stations in the area” on Thursday morning. He reassured passengers that there is no risk to the wider public.

Superintendent Darren Malpas said: “We understand the concerns of the public following this incident and our detectives have been working tirelessly to investigate. I hope this arrest will bring some reassurance to those on the rail network.

“High-visibility patrols will continue in the area and across the network as a visible reassurance to the travelling public.

What we don’t know

While a man has been arrested, we do not yet know his identity. The victim has also not been identified.

The footage of the incident shows the middle of the attack, with no context about how or why it started and whether the two men knew each other.

Some people in the area wrote about witnessing the aftermath of the attack on Facebook. One person said they saw a member of the public with two planks of wood “going after whoever has the knife”, but these reports could not be verified.

Anyone who can help with the investigation are urged to contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 397 of 27 March. To report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Knife crime in London

London mayor Sadiq Khan is facing pressure to tackle knife crime in the capital ahead of the mayoral election in May. Official figures show that incidences of knife crime in London have increased markedly since the COVID pandemic.

Knife crime fell in the years when Boris Johnson was mayor of London – dropping each year from 2011/12 to 2015/16, according to the figures. There was a peak of over 15,600 incidents in 2019/20 before the figures fell as strict lockdown rules were in place.

Since the COVID rules came to an end, knife crime has risen in each year, with 13,300 incidents recorded in 2022/23. The Met Police recorded a 16% increase in rates of knife crime in 2022/23 from the 2021/22. Maps show an increase in the outer boroughs of London in the same period.

Khan has blamed “Tory neglect” for the rise in crime in London, accusing them of putting “an unprecedented squeeze on Met resources”. Ahead of the May elections, Khan vowed to put an extra 1,300 police and community support officers on London’s streets.

Patrick Green, chief executive of anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, last year blamed the pandemic for knife crime rising amongst teenagers. He said young people were made “vulnerable” and therefore easier for criminal gangs to exploit.

Home secretary James Cleverly has previously announced legislation to strengthen a ban on so-called ‘zombie knives’ – weapons with one smooth blade and one serrated edge that have been increasingly linked to gang use. In January, policing minister Chris Philp blamed Khan for the increase in knife crime in the capital, pointing to the mayor “reducing the use of stop and search, which is effective at taking knives off the streets”.