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A knifeman who stabbed a passenger on a train in south London marched through the carriages shouting “I want to kill a Muslim”, according to witnesses.

Police arrested a 38-year-old on suspicion of GBH following the incident at Forest Hill station at around 1.15pm on Monday, while the victim, in his 40s, was rushed to hospital.

There were scenes of panic as passengers fled the station screaming with terror while the attacker was on the loose.

Richard Etienne, 31, was on the train when the knifeman began walking through the carriages with his gloved hands both clenched into fists.

He told the Standard: “A guy was walking with intent from the back of the train and he had a fierce look in his eyes. He was shouting ‘I want to kill a Muslim today’.

“As he approached me he looked me right in my face and then turned round to a woman wearing a hijab in the seat opposite me.

“At that point I noticed he had a knife in his hand, around 5 inches. He looked right at her and said ‘I don’t want me a Muslim woman I want a Muslim man’.

Mr Etienne, who lives in the Forest Hill area, said the man then moved into the front carriage and continued shouting about “killing Muslims”, while other passengers began to quietly move away.

“He stopped shouting at the first car right behind the driver and the next thing I hear is a scream,” he said.

“Then I saw some men jump towards where the scream came from and everyone in the front two cars began moving back very rapidly.

“People were panicking and checking their kids and partners were with them but the train was still moving so we were trapped, we couldn’t get off.”

After the train arrived at Forest Hill station, the majority fled and the emergency button on the platform was pressed.

“The guy then got off the train and shouted: ‘I’m the antichrist and I want to kill Muslims’,” added Mr Etienne, a videographer. “He was walking calmly like he was on a Sunday stroll.”

Another passenger, Miguel Oliveira, 36, said he came "face-to-face" with the attacker.

The music composer from Forest Hill said he was met with a "wave of people" when he arrived at the station following the incident.

He said: "I doubled back and I went back to the station and actually came face-to-face with him (the knifeman.

"He was walking towards me and he was shouting stuff like 'Death to Muslims' and 'Go back to Syria'."

Shellby Curry, 24, from Forest Hill, was with her one-year old child when she saw a man "waving what looked to be a knife in his hand" near the station and screaming words like "Muslims f****** hate them, kill them all".

British Transport Police (BTP) are now appealing for information following the attack. The victim remains in hospital in a “serious but stable condition”.

Senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Paul Langley said: “This was a serious assault on a man in broad daylight and we are aware that other passengers may have seen what happened or been threatened themselves.

“We have spoken with many witnesses from the train but if you saw what happened and haven’t yet contacted police, please do so as soon as you can.”

A BTP spokesman added that the incident is not being treated as “terrorism-related” at this time.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 1:16pm to reports of a stabbing at Forest Hill Railway Station.

“We sent a single responder in a car, an ambulance crew and an incident response officer to the scene. London’s Air Ambulance was also dispatched.

“We treated a man at the scene and took him as a priority to hospital.”