A teenage survivor of the Huntingdon train attacker has praised a heroic football fan for placing himself in front of the knifeman, as she acknowledged ‘my life could have been so different’ without his courageous action.
Astrid, 19, was among scores of terrified passengers caught up in the devastating knife rampage that erupted on an LNER train from Doncaster to London on Saturday evening.
Anthony Williams, 32, was charged on Monday with 11 counts of attempted murder – ten from the alleged attack and one from hours earlier in London.
Astrid, who was travelling alone on the train, found herself running for her life as other passengers frantically came past shouting a knifeman was on board and had begun stabbing people.
She was heading for the buffet car, which was almost full to capacity with others hiding from the attacker, when fellow passenger Stephen Crean swiftly placed himself between her and the knifeman who was coming up fast behind.
The 61-year-old Nottingham Forest fan, armed with nothing but his fists, remained standing there as Astrid slipped into the buffet carriage behind him just moments after seeing Mr Crean being slashed at with the knife.
Speaking to BBC News, Astrid said today that she was in no doubt he had saved her life, as well as those hiding in the buffet carriage with her.
The terrified teenager recalled how she and other shocked passengers desperately tried to keep the carriage door shut as others called the police.
Teenage survivor of the Huntingdon train attacker, Astrid, 19, has praised a heroic football fan for placing himself in front of the knifeman, as she acknowledged ‘my life could have been so different’ without his courageous action
A teenager has praised Stephen Crean (pictured at home in southwest London on Monday) for his actions
She said: ‘I think undoubtedly, if Stephen wasn’t there, I would have been seriously injured, as well as many other people in that buffet car.
‘My message to him would be that I’m so thankful for his actions because my life could have been so different. I’m so lucky to be here walking around unharmed.’
She went on to describe his courage as ‘admirable’.
Earlier this week, Mr Crean recalled the horrific moment he confronted the attacker, knowing he had endangered his life to save others.
The heroic 61-year-old, who was returning from watching Nottingham Forest draw 2-2 with Manchester United, said he heard the screams of injured passengers and walked through the buffet car to a carriage where he came face-to-face with the attacker.
Mr Crean recalled: ‘He had a great big oversized kitchen knife – it was as if it was a Japanese sword or something. He came towards me and said to me, “Do you want to die?”‘
He said he confronted the attacker to give another passenger time to close the buffet door behind him – potentially preventing dozens of injuries to others.
Mr Crean, who was subsequently locked in with the knifeman, was stabbed in his left hand, three times in his back, once on his bottom and twice in his head before he managed to find an empty toilet to hide in.
Mr Crean, 61, confronted the attacker to give another passenger time to close the buffet door behind him – potentially preventing dozens of injuries to others while he was slashed at
He lay on the floor losing blood, and about ten minutes later, opened the door to find armed police pointing guns at him.
‘There was big banging and kicking and shouting outside. [Armed police] came on board and I said my name, and they said, “Yeah, Stephen, you can open the door”. But even when I opened the door, they had the gun pointing at me to make sure it was me and I hadn’t put on a voice,’ he recalled.
‘They opened the door just for me, it was clever. They didn’t open the whole train, otherwise he’s going to get off.’
Mr Crean was taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where he was discharged from on Sunday morning.
‘I got caught on my fingers. He took a swing at this, and a swing at that. I got caught on the head,’ he said.
‘I was lucky. I got caught on the back a few times. They caught me a few times. The front of me, and my other arm. In the face and everything.’
He added: ‘I’m going to need plastic surgery. One finger doesn’t look clever. I’ve had stitches on them all.
‘I don’t know how long it’s going to take.’
Mr Crean also sustained an injury to his head in the Huntingdon attack on Saturday
Mr Crean said: ‘I got caught on my fingers. He took a swing at this, and a swing at that. I got caught on the head’
CCTV footage exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail allegedly shows a knifeman entering Ritzy Barbers in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on Friday – one day before the train attack
The same man walked past the barber shop again the next morning, according to witness Filomena Campanaro, who lives next door to the barbershop
Brave rail worker Samir Zitouni, 48, is understood to have grabbed a frying pan from the galley kitchen to battle the suspected knifeman so passengers could flee to safety
Of his decision to fight back, he said: ‘Probably not many people would’ve done it, but then you’re leaving people behind you vulnerable.’
He has been described as a hero and said: ‘It’s lovely that people are saying nice things about me.
‘One woman messaged me on Facebook and said: “You probably saved my daughter’s life.” I never get emotional, but that got to me.
‘I’m not brave. There’s braver people than me. The train guard, the police, and then the guys that got me off the train.’
Others praised for their actions include rail worker Samir Zitouni, 48, who is understood to have used a frying pan grabbed from the galley kitchen to battle the suspected knifeman so passengers could flee to safety.
Mr Zitouni, who has worked for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for more than 20 years, was one of 11 people injured during the mass stabbing on board the 6.25 service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday night.
He remains in hospital in a stable but ‘critically unwell’ condition following the attack.
Footage from Huntingdon station shows another brave railway worker urging passengers to run for their lives and approaching the suspect after the train was pulled into an emergency stop.
The alleged knifeman calmly strolls down the platform in a black hooded jacket at around 7.40pm. Passengers can be seen fleeing, while the staff member in a high-visibility jacket stays facing the man.
‘They’re on their way, don’t worry,’ he reassures passengers, referring to armed police who quickly swarmed the station.
Of the 11 people who were injured on the train, three have been discharged, while eight remain in hospital.
The train sitting at the platform in Huntingdon on Sunday morning, after passengers and rail staff were attacked
CCTV footage exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail allegedly shows a man believed to be Williams entering Ritzy Barbers, in Fletton, Peterborough, on Friday evening at 7.14pm – minutes after police were called to the stabbing of a 14-year-old in the city centre.
Barber shop staff then called police around 90 minutes after he left – but Cambridgeshire Constabulary did not send officers, instead asking the shop to upload CCTV online.
Barber Cody Greene, 23, told the Daily Mail the same man returned to the shop at 9.25am on Saturday, November 1. Police were called again, but by the time they arrived the man had left.
This happened around ten hours before prosecutors allege Williams began his train rampage, and more than eight hours after the 32-year-old allegedly stabbed a man at a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the capital early that morning.
The British Transport Police has since confirmed the incident is being linked to four other knife incidents that took place in the hours before Williams allegedly launched the terrifying stabbing spree.
