- Written by Daniel Sandford, Mattea Bouvaro, Oliver Slough
- BBC News
Video: Manhunt to catch suspect who drugged woman and her two daughters and fled
The suspect in the south London Alkali attack was convicted of sex offenses in 2018 and later granted asylum.
Police are searching for Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, 35, who was last seen in north London on Wednesday night.
A mother and her three-year-old daughter, who were injured by a corrosive substance, may have suffered “life-changing” injuries in the attack.
Police warned people not to approach Ezedi and to call 999.
The 31-year-old woman, her daughter and her 8-year-old eldest daughter remain hospitalized.
Five police officers were injured during the response, as were four civilians who tried to help.
The attack happened near Clapham Common at around 7.25pm on Wednesday.
The suspect attempted to flee the scene in a vehicle, but crashed into a stopped vehicle and fled.
Ezzedi was convicted of “sexual assault and exposure” in 2018 and was granted asylum in 2021 or 2022.
Earlier, the Metropolitan Police Department released an image of a man with facial injuries.
The image, taken about 70 minutes after the attack, shows the suspect at a Tesco Express in north London.
The footage was taken at 20:48 GMT on Wednesday at a Tesco Express store on Caledonian Road in north London, about 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometers) from the alkaline attack on Lesser Avenue in Clapham.
According to BBC News, Ezzedi arrived in the UK from Afghanistan in 2016 in a lorry.
The suspended prison sentence handed down at Newcastle Crown Court for the sex offenses also included an unpaid work order.
Once that was completed in 2020, Ezzedi was released from probation.
His asylum request was rejected twice, but was granted a third time after he argued that his conversion to Christianity made it unsafe to be sent back to Afghanistan.
The case has been cited by some in the Home Office as an example of dissatisfaction with the refugee court system, where people are granted asylum despite convictions in the UK.
Current rules mean anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison is ineligible for asylum. In 2022, this will be reduced to one year for her.
But those who work with asylum seekers say that even if they are convicted in the UK, they may still be at risk in their home country and therefore may be genuine refugees.
Police said they believe the family knew him, but the exact relationship is not yet clear.
Prime Minister Gabriel Cameron told a news conference that he had “no idea” of Ezzedi’s motives but was “completely confident” he would be arrested.
He said Ezzedi was believed to be from the Newcastle area and the Hyundai car left at the scene belonged to him.
Prime Minister Supt Cameron said the suspect was last seen on Caledonian Road.
There was an increased police presence in the area near London’s King’s Cross station on Thursday afternoon, including unmarked cars and police vans with blue sirens blaring.
A total of 12 people were injured in the incident, including five police officers who attended the scene. Of the four civilians who tried to help, three of them, two women in their 30s and one woman in her 50s, were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Police said they “bravely came to the rescue of the family” and have now been released from hospital.
image source, Metropolitan Police Department
Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, 35, was last seen on Caledonian Road in north London and police warned the public not to approach him.
London Ambulance Service said it sent three paramedics to the scene after receiving reports of an incident near Clapham Common just before 7.30pm.
The man in his 50s refused medical treatment due to minor injuries. The five officers injured while responding to the attack were treated and released from hospital.
Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley told BBC Radio London that some of the burns sustained by the mother and daughters in the attack were “quite severe”.
One witness said the mother yelled, “I can’t see, I can’t see,” as she tried to help.
Police appealed to members of the public who witnessed what happened to call 101, quoting reference CAD 7790/31 January.
Officers also asked local residents and motorists to check their doorbells and dashcams for any footage that may show the man fleeing the area.
Bel Ribeiro Adi, the Labor Party’s MP for the area where the attack occurred, said the attack was “absolutely terrible” for locals and a sign of a society where “violence against women and girls is normalized”. Stated.
Mr Ezzedi was last seen at the Tesco store on Caledonian Road, north London, at 8:48pm on Wednesday.
Sue Sim told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We have over 23 different forces working together in Northumbria. There’s no better way to catch crime than when British police work together.” Ta.
“British Transport Police (BTP), Northumbria Police will be involved…because that’s where he is.” [Ezedi] known to live.
“Information will be passed across the force and officers will be reminded to keep an eye out for this man in their daily briefings.
“Officers will be combing through CCTV cameras at every station in the area to check for any relatives or friends and to ensure they trace this man.
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art will definitely catch him and bring him to justice.”