Clapham chemical attack: How it unfolded and what we know so far
2 February 2024, 09:44 | Updated: 2 February 2024, 09:55
Police are on the hunt for a man who maimed a mother and her two daughters with a corrosive substance, thought to be alkaline oven cleaner, in south London on Wednesday evening.
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Two days on from the attack, the search for Abdul Shokoor Ezedi continues.
When and where did the Clapham chemical attack unfold?
At around 7.25pm on Wednesday, a white Huyandi pulled over on Lessar Avenue near Clapham Common, south London.
Read more: Live: Manhunt for Clapham chemical attack suspect with 'significant injuries' continues
Who were the victims of the chemical attack?
A total of 12 people have been injured, according to Met police chief Mark Rowley.
Ezedi is thought to have grabbed the youngest daughter and put her in the car.
The mother and elder daughter, 10, attempted to intervene but then Ezedi threw the substance at them.
CCTV footage shows the attacker running around the car, slamming the rear door, before clambering into the driver's seat.
Then, the woman and her daughter can be seen reaching out towards each other, with one hand, and clutching their eyes with the other.
Remaining in the car was a young girl, aged two or three, banging on the car window.
Then Ezedi,came out of the car, opened the child’s door and pulled her out.
According to a witness: "He grabbed one of the two children and violently grabbed them and slammed them on the floor".
The woman then shouted: "My eyes! My eyes! Call the police, my eyes!"
Her lips looked black and her skin looked burned, according to a witness who tried to chase the attacker.
The woman knew her attacker, Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has told LBC News.
This gives the police a lead in tracking him down.
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She said: "They’re not looking for someone I think that’s unknown to them, this individual was obviously known to the woman and the children who were attacked primarily, so they do have a lead and we hope that they will apprehend him very soon".
Also injured are four members of the public, with three discharged after being taken to hospital, and the fourth refusing treatment.
Five police officers also went to hospital but were later discharged.
Who is Abdul Shokoor Ezedi?
Abdul Shokoor Ezedi is 35 and a convicted sex attacker.
An image of Ezedi was released last night showing him in a branch of Tesco on Caledonian Road with significant injuries to the right side of his face.
It is understood that Ezedi, who travelled to the UK on the back of a lorry in 2016, was previously denied asylum twice in the UK.
In 2018, he was handed a suspended sentence for the "sexual assault" of an unpaid work order.
In 2021 or 2022, he was granted asylum after converting to Christianity, with a priest vouching for the sex attacker.
The priest said that Ezedi was "wholly committed" to his new religion, according to The Telegraph.
Ezedi was last seen in Caledonian Road, Islington, in North London, having initially travelled down from Newcastle.
The manhunt for Ezedi continues.
What are MP's calling for after the Clapham chemical attack?
Tory MPs have now begun calls for all asylum seekers who commit crimes in Great Britain to be deported.
Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge and the co-chair of the New Conservative group of MPs, told The Telegraph: "This shocking and tragic case is everybody's worst nightmare but it also shows the urgent need to tighten up our asylum processes."
Sir John Hayes, former minister and MP for South Holland and The Deepings, said he would be writing to the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, asking for an urgent review of the UK's asylum rules.
Tory MP on why we have to 'end the asylum merry-go-round' after Clapham chemical attack
Superintendent Cameron added that police were working with other agencies to locate Ezedi.
"So we're liaising with other partners agencies," he said.
"We're working alongside Northumbria (Police), we believe the male is from the Newcastle area.
"And he could be going back there, he may not be, but he could be.
"British Transport Police are also working alongside us as well. So we are working in collaboration with other agencies to try and locate this male."
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on a special hotline 0207 175 2784. Members of the public have been warned against approaching the suspect and warned to call 999 immediately.
