LONDON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- British police on Friday launched an investigation into a deadly stabbing on a London-bound train, in which a 51-year-old man was killed while traveling with his 14-year-old son.

The British Transport Police has launched a murder investigation after the man was stabbed to death on a London Waterloo-bound train.

Police were called at 1315 GMT on Friday to Horsley station in Surrey after a man was knifed on the train travelling between Guildford and Waterloo.

The "incredibly frightening" attack took place in front of shocked passengers with one witness claiming there was "blood everywhere."

The male suspect, who is still at large, fled from the train at Clandon, the station before Horsley, according to media reports.

The incident took place after a security guard and a woman were stabbed to death in separate cases in London on New Year's Day.

The number of killings in London in 2018 has risen to its highest level for a decade. The figures included murders, manslaughters and self-defense killings.