'We could have been victims': Barber shop's terrifying encounter
The owner of a barber shop that was twice confronted by a man armed with a knife has questioned whether the Huntingdon train stabbing attack could have been prevented if police had taken his initial reports more seriously.
Staff members at Ritzy Barbers came face-to-face with the individual believed to be responsible for a stabbing rampage that left 10 people hospitalised with injuries.
"We didn't really comprehend until days later that we could have been victims," said Ibrahim Wanas, owner of the barber shop.
CCTV captures chilling moments inside the barbers
Security footage from the evening of Friday, 7th November 2025 shows a man standing outside the barber shop before entering the premises while brandishing a knife, terrifying both staff and clients.
The CCTV images capture staff members running towards the back of the shop in an attempt to escape from the armed individual.
"I am very proud of them because they did handle it in the best possible way," Mr Wanas told Sky News. "Because if they had acted in any other way, would it have turned out differently? Would he have lashed out at them for maybe speaking back to him? It was just a shock because everyone was caught off guard."
Delayed police response raises serious questions
Mr Wanas was not present during the initial Friday evening incident but received an urgent phone call from a staff member alerting him to what had happened.
After checking on his team and reviewing the CCTV evidence, he contacted police approximately 90 minutes after the incident. However, as the suspect had already left the premises, officers did not attend until the following day.
When the alleged attacker returned to the shop the next day, Cambridgeshire Police arrived 20 minutes after being called - by which time the man had departed again.
It wasn't until Sunday, two days after the initial report, that police attended in person to review the CCTV footage.
"That's when I think they kind of realised that it could be the same person," said Mr Wanas. "And we ourselves realised that, well, it could have been us in that situation. I feel like we wasn't taken seriously."
He added: "That does weigh quite heavy on us as a team here, because we feel like if they had taken us seriously, would they have stopped the guy? And would the guy have been in custody? Something that sits on us because the police didn't come fast enough to respond."
Moving forward: Creating positive change from trauma
Following news of the Huntingdon train station stabbing incident, Mr Wanas temporarily closed his barber shop to give staff time to process their traumatic experience.
Although the business has since reopened, he expressed concern that some team members would be "constantly watching over their shoulders" in what he had always intended to be a "safe haven" for men in the community.
Determined not to let the incidents create division, Mr Wanas is establishing the Ritzy Foundation, a project designed to help young people and build pathways into entrepreneurship, hoping his shop can serve as a catalyst for positive change.
The British Transport Police confirmed they are investigating whether three separate incidents in Peterborough before the main attack are connected.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police stated: "This matter was already referred to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) but did not meet the threshold for a referral. Our internal review continues into any potential incidents relating to events on Saturday. The investigation into these offences now sits with the British Transport Police."
