Scotland Yard is hunting a “significantly injured” suspected chemical attacker who allegedly left a “vulnerable” young woman and her toddler with potentially life-changing wounds after throwing a corrosive substance over them.
Detectives shared a new photo of Abdul Ezedi on Thursday, calling him “dangerous” and highlighting the maimed right side of his face while appealing for witnesses to come forward. But they warned: “If you see him, do not approach him.”
Emergency services were called to Lessar Avenue in Clapham at about 7.25pm on Wednesday after the family was doused with what detectives called an alkaline substance. The victims were taken to hospital along with passersby and police officers who were injured as they tried to help.
The Metropolitan police have alerted other forces in case the 35-year-old tries to flee London, with a superintendent, Gabriel Cameron, saying he was last seen in the Caledonian Road area of north London, and was believed to have travelled from the north-east of England to carry out the attack.
He did not confirm what substance was used, saying many such corrosive products were readily available in high street shops, nor how the attacker sustained his injury.
The 31-year-old woman, who is believed to be known to Ezedi, her three-year-old and a second daughter, aged eight, were in a stable condition in hospital on Thursday afternoon.
The suspect was granted asylum by the UK government after his conviction in 2018 for a sex offence, after completing his sentence imposed at Newcastle crown court. He was believed by British government officials to be an Afghan national who arrived by lorry in 2016.
He tried three times to gain asylum, an official with knowledge of his claims said. The first time he was rejected. He then tried a second time, saying he was a Christian, and this second attempt was also rejected. He tried a third time, again saying he was a Christian, but this time a priest vouched for the sincerity of his faith. The asylum claim was accepted.
On Thursday evening officers released a CCTV image of the last known sighting of Ezedi in Caledonian Road in Islington shortly before 9pm on Wednesday. “The image is taken from the Tesco store, where Ezedi is believed to have purchased a bottle of water. He left the shop and turned right. The image shows Ezedi with what appears to be significant injuries to the right side of his face. This makes him distinctive,” Cameron said.
Commenting on the family’s injuries, Cameron said: “While none of their conditions are life-threatening, the injuries to the woman and younger girl could be life-changing. It may be some time before hospital staff are able to say how serious that might be.”
They were victims, Cameron said, of a horrific crime against a vulnerable female and her family, committed by a dangerous individual. He added: “We take violence against women and girls very seriously. And this was someone who [was in] a vulnerable position … and it would have been horrific and frightening. So we will do our utmost and we will, I’m totally confident, capture him.”
Ezedi is believed to have tried to flee the scene in a car, but crashed into a stationary vehicle and made off on foot. Cameron said Scotland Yard was working with Northumbria and British Transport Police because Ezedi “could be going back” to Newcastle. He told reporters: “We will catch him, I’m wholeheartedly confident.”
Cameron added: “At this stage, I believe he may have been known to police, but he’s not a local resident from London as far as I’m aware.”
CCTV footage of the attack released on Thursday night shows what appears to be a man getting into the driver’s seat of a car and driving into someone else. Members of the public then rush out of their homes to the vehicle before surrounding it.
There was a sense of shock in Clapham on Thursday morning. A witness said he heard screaming outside and saw a child banging on the window of a car before seeing a man throwing a substance on a woman.
“Then he ran away because people started chasing him. After that, I heard a woman screaming: ‘My eyes, my eyes. Where are my children?’ She was running up and down with her eyes covered. Neighbours came out and began splashing water in her eyes. The little kid kept on screaming: ‘Where is my mummy?’”
Other witnesses described a “horrific” scene. The Clapham South Belvedere hotel, which is metres away, confirmed that its guests were victims of the attack. Since the pandemic, the hotel has been used as temporary accommodation by local authorities.
It is not known yet whether the victims were living in the hotel as temporary accommodation guests.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, the Met police commissioner, Mark Rowley, paid tribute to the bravery of members of the public and police who intervened. He said three members of the public, as well as five police officers, went to hospital after coming into contact with the substance. Only the woman and her two daughters remained in hospital as of Thursday lunchtime, he added.
The Met heaped praise on the bravery of the passersby who came to the aid of the family. Cameron said: ‘All these members of the public and my officers deserve enormous recognition and praise for coming to the aid of this woman and children in what must have been a terrifying scenario. We will provide them with all the support we can.”
