Manhunt after two boys attacked with ‘corrosive substance’ at London Tube station in latest incident to rock the capital
27 February 2024, 06:45 | Updated: 27 February 2024, 11:13
A manhunt has been launched by police after two boys were attacked with a 'corrosive substance' at a London Tube station in the latest incident to rock the capital.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The British Transport Police (BTP) has released CCTV images of three people they want to speak to after the chemical attack, which took place at Elm Park Tube station on Saturday evening.
The victims were attacked at around 8pm before being rushed to hospital, whether their injuries were classified as neither non-life-threatening nor life-changing.
It comes just weeks after a mother and her two children were attacked with an alkali substance in Clapham.
Images released by the BTP show two men at a Tube station, with one wearing a black puffer jacket, a face covering and black baseball cap. The other is seen wearing a black coat.
They are flanked by a woman wearing a black and white top with a cream jacket over the top. She is also carrying green coat while wearing blue jeans and Converse shoes.
Read More: Chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi drowned in Thames, post-mortem reveals
There have been a series of corrosive substance attacks in recent weeks, with the most high-profile being committed by Afghan asylum seeker Abdul Ezedi.
Police hunted for Ezedi for weeks before determining that he had fallen into the Thames and drowned.
The mother who was injured in that attack is believed to have life-changing injuries after part of her face was covered in the substance. Her two young children's injuries are not as serious as initially thought.
Meanwhile, a woman was injured with a corrosive substance at a pub in Basingstoke on February 10, while in south London on February 11, a man held passengers on a bus as he held a bottle of acid.
Investigating officer Detective Inspector Marvin Bruno said: "Violence in any form will not be tolerated on the rail network and we would like to reassure the travelling public that our officers are working tirelessly to identify and apprehend those responsible.
"We are really keen to speak to the people in the images, or anyone else who witnessed the incident, as we believe they have information which could help our investigation. If you know them or have any information that might help, please get in touch."
Anyone who recognises them, or has any other information, is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 803 of 24/02/24.
Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
