A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a soldier was stabbed and seriously injured in a street near a barracks in southeast England, police said Wednesday.

The British Army said the victim, who is in his 40s, suffered serious injuries. He was airlifted to a hospital for treatment. There was no immediate word on a motive.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled,” writing on social network X. "All our thoughts are with the soldier, his family and our Armed Forces community, who serve to keep all of us safe. I wish him a swift recovery.”

Defence Secretary John Healey also called the attack “shocking.”

The Kent Police force said officers were called Tuesday evening to reports of an assault in the town of Gillingham, 30 miles (about 50 kilometres) southeast of London.

Witnesses said an attacker wearing a ski mask, rode up on a moped, attacked the soldier, and then fled.

A suspect was arrested within half an hour, police said. They identified him only as a 24-year-old local man. British police do not name suspects until they have been charged.

The road where police said the attack happened is close to Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army's 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. On Wednesday morning, police cars and crime scene tape cordoned off both ends of the treelined road. The army did not confirm media reports that the soldier was in uniform at the time of the attack.

“Our thoughts are with the soldier and their family and we request that their privacy is respected at this difficult time," the army said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with Kent Police to understand what happened and support the investigation."

Attacks on soldiers in Britain are rare. In 2013, two men inspired by al-Qaida killed soldier Lee Rigby in a London street, running him down with a car before stabbing him to death.