One of the people attacked during a mass stabbing on a busy train in Cambridgeshire has been named as the Scunthorpe United footballer Jonathan Gjoshe.
Gjoshe sustained non-life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital, the club said.
Eleven people were treated in hospital after the attack on a moving high-speed train from Doncaster to London on Saturday evening. Anthony Williams, 32, has appeared at Peterborough magistrates court charged with 10 counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident.
Among the injured was 22-year-old Gjoshe. In a statement, his club said: “Scunthorpe United can confirm registered player Jonathan Gjoshe was one of the victims affected by the shocking attack on an LNER train bound for London on Saturday evening.
“We can confirm that Jonathan sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack but currently remains in hospital. Due to the ongoing investigations taking place, we are currently unable to update further.
“Everyone at the club, from the board, management and his teammates, along with all staff behind the scenes, sends our heartfelt well wishes to Jonathan for a full recovery, which is also extended to all the victims onboard the train.”
Another of the victims has been named as Stephen Crean. The Nottingham Forest football fan reportedly confronted the train attacker, going face to face with him in the carriage.
The 61-year-old told the Daily Telegraph: “He was on a mission. He knew what he wanted to do and he was going to do it. All of a sudden this knife comes out and I went straight for him. I tried to punch him. I was trying to hold his arm, but he caught me on the top of the head.”
Crean said that after being stabbed six times he managed to lock himself in a train bathroom until armed police arrived. “My motive was to protect people,” he said. “I was scared, but then it went away, you just do whatever, you just go with it.”
An LNER staff member is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after the stabbings, and four other people remain in hospital.
The staff member was on the train at the time and tried to stop the attacker, Cambridgeshire police said. A statement said detectives reviewed the CCTV from the train and it was “clear his actions were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved many people’s lives”.
Stuart Cundy, the deputy chief constable of the British Transport Police, said: “Having viewed the CCTV from the train, the actions of the member of rail staff were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives.”
David Horne, the managing director of LNER, said on Sunday: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by yesterday’s incident and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected, particularly our colleague … and their family.”
He added: “This is a deeply upsetting incident. Over the coming days we will continue to cooperate with the authorities involved and will do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues during this very difficult time.”
The train’s driver, Andrew Johnson, who is reported to be a Royal Navy veteran, is said to have got signallers to divert the train to a different track, allowing him to stop at a platform at Huntingdon which was not a planned stop on the route.
Johnson, who was not attacked, has been hailed for his heroic actions, which many have said saved lives.
Nigel Roebuck, a full-time organiser in the north-east of England for the train drivers’ union Aslef and lead officer with LNER, said: “The driver did everything he was trained to do, at the right time and in the right way.
“He showed real courage, real dedication, and real determination in the most difficult of circumstances. Our thoughts tonight are with his colleague who is still in intensive care.”
