The hero of the train: a railway worker protected passengers during a knife attack

Samir Zitounia worker London North Eastern Railway (LNER)was hailed for his «bravery beyond measure», in protecting passengers during a knife attack on a train in Great Britainan event that left eleven injured, including the «heroic» employee.

The incident occurred on the night of Saturday, November 1, on the high-speed train traveling from Doncaster toward London. The attacker, identified as Anthony Williams32, boarded the train in Peterborough, according to reports The Guardian.

When violence broke out aboard the 6.25pm ​​service, Zitouni ran «into danger, confronting the attacker for a sustained period», as described by the British Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.

Meanwhile, the general director of LNER, David Hornecelebrated that «in a moment of crisis», Zitouni «did not hesitate to step forward to protect those around him.» «His actions were incredibly brave.and we are very proud of him and all of our colleagues who acted with such courage that night,» he added in a statement.

The family of Samir Zitouni – who call him Sam – thanked «the outpouring of love and kindness» shown towards the 48-year-old worker. «The care provided by the hospital and the support of their colleagues at LNER was incredible,» they said.

«We are immensely proud of Sam and his courage. Police called him a hero on Saturday night, but For us, he was always a hero«they added.

Samir Zitouni was hailed for his «bravery beyond measure» in protecting passengers during a knife attack on a train in Britain. Photo: London North Eastern Railway (LNER).

The driver, Andrew Johnson, diverted the train to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, allowing police intervention. A total of eleven people were treated in hospital. Among the victims were the footballer Jonathan Gjoshe and the passenger Stephen Crean61, who allegedly confronted the attacker. Zitouni suffered serious injuries and, as of November 4, remained in hospital in stable, although critically ill, condition.

«Everyone at the club, from the board, management and his teammates, along with all staff behind the scenes, send our sincere good wishes to Jonathan for a full recovery, which also extends to all the victims on board the train,» the Scunthorpe United club wrote in a statement.

Williams, originally from Peterborough, was charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the incident on the train. It was put in preventive detention after appearing before the court.

Williams’ connection to other violent incidents

The investigation into the train attack, now led by the British Transport Police (BTP)was expanded to include multiple knife incidents allegedly linked to Anthony Williams. The BTP had already identified Williams as a suspect in a previous attack on London’s transport system.

In addition to the massive attack on the train, four incidents are examined that took place in the previous 24 hoursbetween the afternoon of October 31 and the morning of November 1.

The incident occurred on the night of Saturday, November 1, on the high-speed train traveling from Doncaster to London. Photo: Reuters/Jack Taylor.

As detailed by the BTP in a statement, on Friday, October 31, at 7:10 pm, a 14 year old boy was stabbed with a knife in the center of Peterborough. He suffered minor injuries for which he was discharged.

The same day, around 7:10 pm, a man with a knife entered a barbershop in Fletton, Peterborough. This incident was reported to the police two hours later, but no officers were dispatched as the man had left.

Another attack took place on November 1 at 12:46 am, when A 17-year-old boy suffered injuries to his face. after being attacked with a knife on a DLR train at Pontoon Dock station, east London. Williams was identified as a suspect in this incident and BTP attempted to locate and arrest him that same day.

The train attack investigation expanded to include multiple knife incidents allegedly linked to Anthony Williams. Photo: EFE/EPA/Neil Hall.

Earlier that day, around 9:25 am, A new incident was reported at the same barbershop by Fletton. Cambridgeshire officers were deployed and arrived 18 minutes later, but were unable to locate the suspect.