WATCH: Police release footage of Newcastle apartment search
Police searching for suspects in the chemical attack on a mother and daughter in Clapham have released footage and images from the raid.
Officers are currently searching five properties in London and Newcastle in search of Abdul Shokur Ezedi.
Police photos show empty containers with corrosive warning labels found during one search.
The injured woman, who is acquainted with the suspect, is hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
The attack, carried out using a corrosive substance, occurred at 19:25 GMT on Wednesday in Lesser Avenue, Clapham.
While the 31-year-old mother suffered life-changing injuries, her daughters, aged three and eight, are said to have suffered injuries that were “less serious than initially thought”.
A member of the public who tried to intervene and a police officer who attended the scene were also treated for injuries.
Following the appeal, the Metropolitan Police received dozens of calls and raids were carried out at two locations in east London and three locations in Newcastle.
Forensic tests are underway to establish whether two containers found in Newcastle contained the corrosive substance used during the attack.
image source, Metropolitan Police Department
A container with a corrosive warning on the label was found on a Newcastle estate.
Police are also investigating the suspect’s movements.
The 35-year-old left the Newcastle area early on Wednesday before descending on the capital.
At 9pm, he was captured on surveillance cameras entering King’s Cross Tube station and boarding a southbound Victoria Line train.
On Friday afternoon, Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector John Savell appealed for a man who suffered serious injuries to the right side of his face to come forward.
This is the latest image released by the Metropolitan Police, showing Ezedi at King’s Cross.
Three women and one man tried to stop the attackers as they fled the scene.
He tried to drive away but collided with a parked vehicle and continued on foot towards Clapham Common.
Three civilians who came to help the family were released from the hospital with only minor burns.
The five police officers who took part in the attack were treated and have now been released from hospital.
The BBC confirmed that Abdul Shokur Ezzedi, who is said to have traveled from Afghanistan in a truck in 2016, 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 registered as a sex offender 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.
Asylum seekers can apply for asylum in the UK if they fear religious persecution in their home country.
It is not yet known which Christian sect supported the man’s claims.
The Catholic Church in the North East confirmed that he was involved in a justice and peace charity project, but has not yet confirmed whether he was helped in other ways.
The BBC spoke to the owner of a supermarket in Byker, Newcastle, who said he saw Ezzedi in the store on Tuesday.
“He seemed normal and relaxed and was generally always respectful and courteous. He had been working behind the counter at the pizza shop for six or seven days,” said a shop owner called Yaya.
“I was shocked. He worked hard. In the two years I knew him, he never drank.
“A few months ago he told me he was tired of being single so he was going back to Afghanistan to marry a woman and working hard to bring her back to the UK.”
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact police. CDR Sabel said the man should not be approached and anyone who saw him should call 999.