Scunthorpe United defender Jonathan Gjoshe was among those stabbed in the Huntingdon train attack last year and has now spoken about the incident for the first time
Jonathan Gjoshe(Image: BBC Sport)
A non-league footballer who was stabbed seven times during a frenzied attack on a train last year has spoken about the harrowing ordeal for the first time.
Jonathan Gjoshe, a defender for Scunthorpe United, was one of 11 people seriously injured when Anthony Williams went on a rampage onboard a train as it travelled through Cambridgeshire. The incident on November 1 made headlines all over the world, with Williams set to undergo trial later this year after being charged with 10 counts of attempted murder.
Gjoshe has previously declined interview requests. But six months on from the attack, he recalls the events that left him fearing for his life.
“I got stabbed on the shoulder first”, the 23-year-old tells BBC Sport. “I remember jumping over the table, jumping over the chairs. I was just running down the corridor, telling people, ‘there’s a guy with a knife, run, I’ve been stabbed, run, run, run’. I was screaming. I think I was the first person that got stabbed. I felt the pain. But adrenaline kicked in.”
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Gjoshe, who was told by medics that the knife had gone through muscles, recalls how some passengers initially thought his warnings to them were a joke due to it being the day after Halloween.
He suffered injuries to his biceps, shoulder and arm before the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon. Gjoshe managed to get himself off and was rushed to hospital.
“That split second, me jumping over the table, saved me,” he added. “All I thought about was just running for my life, getting off that train. As I got down to the first or second carriage, I pulled the alarm, and was just drenched with blood.
“I was thinking I wasn’t going to see my family again, if I died, and that was the main worry for me. Normally I would drive back down to London. That was the first time I got on a train to go back. What’s the chance of that happening? It’s crazy.”
The injuries Gjoshe suffered have had an impact on his career. He explains he was initially concerned that he would not be able to play football professionally again.
“I was very worried [he would be told to stop playing]. Just thinking, ‘what damage has happened to me?’ I didn’t have a clue until I had the surgery. They said, ‘It’s not much from the nerve. You’re very lucky’.”
After months of rehab, Gjoshe was able to return to training in March. But while he is now fit, he is on the lookout for a new club after being released earlier this month by Scunthorpe, whose fans started a GoFundMe to aid him during his recovery.
Gjoshe had earned the chance to impress with the former EFL club after being named Corinthians’ Young Player of the Year. Having been granted dual-registration, he was loaned out to play for Bottesford Town to gain further experience and had been representing the non-league outfit on the same day he travelled on the train to return back to London.
“Obviously [with] everything I’ve been through, I missed half a season… I didn’t get that chance that I wanted”, says Gjoshe, who is hoping another club will give him a chance to impress now he is healthy. “I was hoping they’d give me another year to prove that. But unfortunately, I didn’t get that. It’s quite disappointing.”
When Gjoshe is asked how he stays positive following the ordeal, he replies: “Listen, it’s happened, it’s life, thank God I’m alive,
“[You] can’t look back at it, just got to move on. That was the only thing on my mind, getting back to football, and hoping I was going to get that chance. You’ve only got one life. Anything can happen… So you’ve got to make the most out of it. And, it’s made me push every day.”
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