A project manager has shared the terrifying experience of pleading for her life during a brutal knife attack on a train, only to be met with a chilling response from the assailant.
Dayna Arnold, 48, and her partner, site manager Andy Gray, 37, were traveling aboard the London-bound LNER Azuma service when chaos erupted. Seated in Coach J, they were at the opposite end of the carriage from the attacker, who unleashed an eight-minute rampage that left two victims fighting for their lives.
Separated amidst the panic, Dayna fell to the floor as the attacker approached, wielding a six-inch kitchen knife. She begged, “Please don’t kill me.” In a terrifying moment, the attacker’s expression shifted, but he continued, uttering the ominous words, “The devil is not going to win.”
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Reflecting on the ordeal, Dayna said, “We feel incredibly lucky to be here. Had we been seated at the other end of the carriage, things could have been much worse.”
Andy, still wearing the blood-stained jumper from the attack, recounted first noticing the violence shortly after departing Peterborough station. “We heard the panic and chaos and saw the knife moving,” he said. Despite pushing Dayna away to protect her, they were separated during the attack.
He described assisting a young man, about 19 or 20 years old, who suffered severe injuries, including gashes and a puncture wound under his arm. “He was bleeding heavily, and it looked like an artery had been hit,” Andy explained. “I tore off my belt to make a tourniquet. He pleaded, ‘Please call my dad, I don’t want to die.'”
Following the attack, Dayna and Andy left the station and were offered complimentary accommodation nearby. They later returned to Huntingdon station to continue their journey to Milton Keynes.
Andy expressed hope that their swift action helped save the young man’s life. “I still have his blood on my jumper. Knowing there were two people critically injured, I hope we made a difference.”