London police are conducting today investigations to find the man suspected of attacking a woman and her two daughters with a chemical Wednesday night in the British capital, while the fact that the suspect in question had taken asylum in United Kingdom rather than a previous conviction of his.
Abdul Ezedi, a 35-year-old resident of the Newcastle area (north-east England), is suspected of sprayed a 31-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged eight and three, with an “alkaline” substance (like caustic soda or bleach) in the middle of the road around 19:30 (local time) on Wednesday.
A few hours after attack which took place in Clapham, South London, the suspect was spotted on security camera footage of a supermarket in the northern part of the city, with serious injuries on the right side of his face, which were caused by this product.
According to the British media, Mr Abdul Ezedi, who allegedly arrived in 2016 from Afghanistan, had already been convicted in 2018 of a offense of a sexual nature and had been given a suspended sentence by Newcastle Crown Court. According to the same source, he was finally granted asylum in United Kingdom after two failed attempts, after a priest told the British authorities that Ezedi had converted to Christianity.
Conservative MPs have called on the government to further tighten the conditions of reception on British soil and carry out “a thorough examination” of the suspect's file. The three victims are still hospitalized today. Yesterday, Thursday, the police had declared that their lives “not in danger,” but they will “forever” bear the scars of their wounds.
Police chief Mark Rowley, who said yesterday that “we will hunt down” the attacker, has at this stage ruled out a terror attack scenario, explaining that the man and woman knew each other. Nine people -four bystanders and five police officers- were also injured by this substance while rendering aid to the victims, and eight of them were taken to hospital.
After a series of caustic substance attacks that shocked the UK a few years ago, reaching 941 in 2017, these incidents have become rare thanks to the strengthening, in 2019, of controls on the sale of these products.
However, the number of attacks increased again in 2022, by 69% in England and Wales with 710 attacks, according to the Acid Survivors Trust International.
Source: News Beast
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