Forest Hill Attacker charged with attempted murder over the stabbing of a train passenger.
Adrian Brown, of Forest Hill, south east London, has also been charged with possession of an offensive weapon and assault by battery, British Transport Police said.
Brown, of Brockley Rise, was arrested after a man was assaulted on a train at the station shortly after 1pm yesterday.
Brown has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Police said that a man in his forties, who was taken to hospital following the incident, remains in a serious but stable condition.
Eyewitnesses at the station yesterday reported hearing a knifeman shout “death to Muslims” and “go back to Syria”.
Officers rushed to Forest Hill station amid chaotic reports of an attack on social media.
The armed man was heard shouting threats and was reportedly “ranting on the streets”.
Miguel Oliveira, 36, told the Press Association he was met with a “wave of people” when he arrived at the station following Monday’s incident.
He said: “The first few were shouting ‘he’s got a knife, he’s got a knife’ and then all of a sudden the next ones said ‘oh he’s been stabbed, call the police’.”
He added that some members of the crowd were shouting: “He wants to kill Muslims.”
Several people phoned the police, who arrived around ten minutes later and restrained him, one eyewitness said.
Shellby Curry, 24, was with her one-year-old child.
She said: “I was walking along and someone stopped and said ‘be careful, he’s got a knife’. As I looked around there he was.
“I just grabbed my baby and ran across the road. Looking back [I saw] him marching up and down waving his arm about.”
Police said yesterday they were not treating the incident as “terrorism-related”.
BTP said it was a “serious hate crime offence” but there was “no suggestion of wider terrorist aspect”.
