- Written by Andre Roden-Paul
- BBC news
WATCH: Police in hazmat suits at a compound in east London
The suspect in the corrosive attack on a mother and daughter was last seen at King’s Cross London Underground station, police said.
Abdul Shokur Ezedi was last seen at 9pm Japan time on Wednesday as he boarded a southbound Victoria Line train.
Around 90 minutes after the attack in Clapham, south London, detectives released new images of the suspect inside the station.
The 31-year-old mother suffered life-changing injuries and remains in a “very bad” condition.
Her daughters, ages 3 and 8, suffered injuries that were not “as serious as originally thought” and “do not appear to be life-altering.”
Metropolitan Police Department Inspector John Savell told a news conference that he called on Ezzedi, who was seriously injured on the right side of his face, to come forward.
“Abdul, you are obviously seriously injured,” CDR Sabel said.
“We have seen the images. You need medical help. Please do the right thing and turn yourself in.”
He also revealed that search warrants were carried out in east London and Newcastle on Thursday and that “substantial and material evidence” had been recovered.
Two empty containers with corrosive warning labels were discovered at an address in Newcastle, and forensic tests are underway to establish whether they contained the substance used in the attack.
The wanted man left the Newcastle area in the early hours of the morning before heading down to the capital where the attack occurred on Lesser Avenue in Clapham at 7.25pm ββon Wednesday.
This is the latest image released by the Metropolitan Police, showing Ezedi at King’s Cross.
According to initial details, a mother and two daughters were seriously injured after a substance was thrown at them.
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.
All three civilians who came to help the family were released from the hospital with minor burns.
The five police officers who took part in the attack were also treated and have now been released from hospital.
Mr Ezedi was later seen at a Tesco in the King’s Cross area before boarding the southbound Victoria line from the area’s Tube station at 9pm on Wednesday.
The update comes after it was revealed that Ezzedi, who is believed to have traveled from Afghanistan in a truck in 2016, was convicted of sex crimes 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.
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 denomination supported Ezzedi’s claims.
The Catholic Church in the North East confirmed that Mr Ezzedi had been involved in a justice and peace charity, 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.
βA 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.β