- Written by George Wright & Sean Seddon
- BBC news
image source, Metropolitan Police Department
Police released CCTV images of Ezzedi leaving Tower Hill tube station.
A 22-year-old man has been arrested and released on bail on suspicion of assisting the Clapham Alkali attackers.
Abdul Shokur Ezzedi has been on the run since Wednesday when a woman and her two young daughters were injured in south London.
The Metropolitan Police said it had detained a man on suspicion of helping Ezzedi after a raid early Monday morning.
They added that there were new sightings of Ezzedi in the Southwark Bridge area on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old woman injured on Wednesday was sedated in hospital and may lose vision in her right eye, police told reporters, adding that her injuries would affect her for the rest of her life. Ta.
Authorities are investigating how long Ezzedi and the woman have known each other and what kind of relationship they had.
Police also confirmed that Ezzedi is not the father of the woman’s children who were injured in the attack. Police said the children’s injuries were not as serious as initially thought.
Five Metropolitan Police Department police officers who responded to the attack were also injured, as were four civilians who tried to help.
Metropolitan Police Commander John Sabel announced that a 22-year-old man was arrested at an undisclosed location at 12:45 a.m. Monday on suspicion of assisting an offender.
The suspect was taken to a south London police station and questioned before being released on bail.
“Our message here is clear: If you are harboring Ezzedi, we will find you and arrest you,” Commander Saber said.
Police have two main theories about Ezzedi’s whereabouts. It’s either that he’s been harmed in some way, or that someone is taking care of him.
Ezzedi, a convicted sex offender believed to be of Afghan origin, was last seen at Tower Hill Tube station at 9:33pm on Wednesday.
Police said they had obtained new CCTV images showing Ezedi near Southwark Bridge at 9:50pm that day.
Police are not currently searching for Ezzedi in the Thames.
Investigators have searched hundreds of hours of surveillance cameras and are tracking Ezzedi’s movements on the metro network through his ATM card, which was last used on Wednesday, police said.
The focus of the investigation remains in London and Newcastle, but police across the country have been put on high alert, with UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency also assisting in the search.
The Metropolitan Police has offered a reward of £20,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Nick Aldworth, a former counter-terrorism police officer, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If we think someone is hiding in the community”, police will respond to information, possibly with the help of others. He said he is offering incentives.
He also said it was “not unlikely or improbable” that the suspect took his own life and that “his body has been recovered.”
Mr Aldworth added that it would be difficult to travel in public around London for several days without being seen on CCTV.
WATCH: CCTV video shows Clapham attack suspect in Tesco
Until this week, Mr Ezzedi, 35, lived in the Newcastle area. He is believed to have traveled to the UK in a truck from Afghanistan in 2016.
Police said he was seriously injured and could be more visible.
Armed police were called to Manchester Piccadilly station on Saturday after reports of a sighting of Ezzedi. British Transport Police said it was a “false alarm”.
Ezzedi had traveled from Newcastle to London in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the attack occurred outside a hotel on Lesser Avenue at 19:25 BST.
Police previously confirmed a search of his Newcastle flat found a “highly potent, concentrated corrosive substance”.
Mr Ezzedi was seen on CCTV at the Tesco store in Caledonian Road, Islington, north London, at 8:38pm.
At 9pm, he was seen on camera entering King’s Cross Tube station and boarding a southbound Victoria Line train.
Police said the man arrived at Victoria Station in central London at 9:10pm and transferred to an eastbound train on the District line at 9:16pm.
Mr Ezzedi was seen leaving Tower Hill tube station minutes later. The latest sighting was at 9:47pm when he was seen walking along All Hallows Lane in the Southwark Bridge area.
The BBC confirmed that Ezzedi was convicted of sex offenses in 2018.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that he had pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and exposure and was sentenced on January 9, 2018.
He was given a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Ezzedi was later granted asylum after two failed attempts. After the priest confirmed his conversion to Christianity, he was allowed to stay in the country.
The Catholic Church, which covers north-east England, previously confirmed Mr Ezzedi was a client of a charity project that “supports a wide range of people who come to us in need”.
“After reviewing local parish records and central records and consulting with clergy, we have confirmed that Abdul Ezedi has been accepted into the Catholic faith in this diocese or is a Catholic in this diocese,” the church organization said in an update Monday. There is no indication that the priest has been accepted.” He gave him references.
“We do not know which Christian church accepted him or which Christian pastor gave him a recommendation.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak spoke to reporters on Monday about whether immigration laws should be changed following reports claiming religious conversion could be used to facilitate asylum claims. Didn’t mention it.