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'Do you want to die?' Irish citizen recalls confrontation with train attacker

Stephen Crean said he knew the attacker wanted to get past him to the other passengers
Stephen Crean said he knew the attacker wanted to get past him to the other passengers

An Irish citizen who was stabbed on a London-bound train at the weekend has said "it was instinct" when he blocked the attacker from hurting other passengers.

Ten people were wounded in the mass stabbing on board the train between Doncaster, a town in northeast England, and London's King's Cross Station, on Saturday night.

British police were alerted to the emergency on board the train at around 7.40pm on Saturday.

Stephen Crean, whose mother is from Co Dublin and father from Co Roscommon, said he saw a woman running down the carriage shouting "a man with a knife, a man with a knife" before he saw the attacker.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One programme, Mr Crean said people locked themselves in toilets and others ran towards the buffet carriage on the train to escape the attacker.

He said he stood between the buffet car door and the man with the knife.

Mr Crean said the attacker asked him "do you want to die?".

"I knew he wanted to get past me and get in that buffet car cause the door wasn't locked properly," he said.

"They finally got the last person in and I heard the door click and I went for his arm," Mr Crean said.

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Mr Crean said his hand was injured and the knife also struck his head.

"He just swung at what he could swing at really," Mr Crean said.

However, Mr Crean added he did not receive any head or chest wounds during the incident.

He said police then entered the train and apprehended the man.

Mr Crean said his mother was from Seán McDermott Street in Dublin and his father is from Castlerea, Co Roscommon.

He said he visits Ireland frequently supporting the Republic of Ireland and holds an Irish passport.

"I will always class myself as Irish, that will never go away, till the day I die it will always be there," Mr Crean added.

Yesterday, a 32-year-old man appeared at Peterborough Magistrates' Court charged with ten counts of attempted murder following the incident on Saturday.

Anthony Williams was also charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article.

He is due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December.