On Wednesday (31st January) evening, an Islamist identified as 35-year-old Abdul Shakoor Ezedi carried out an alkali attack at Lessar Avenue near Clapham Common in South London.
As per reports, Abdul threw the corrosive substance at a 31-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged three and nine. The victims were inside their car at the time of the attack.
Thereafter, the accused fled the crime scene in his car but rammed into a stationary vehicle. Following the collision, he escaped from the area on foot.
'A manhunt which originally started in London is now stretching all the way to Newcastle.'@RayAddisonLive details developments of the Clapham alkaline attack from the scene of the incident.
— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 1, 2024
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Reportedly, 4 members of the public and 5 police officers were also injured while helping the victims. All of them were later admitted to a hospital. The 31-year-old woman and her 3-year-old child are suspected to have ‘life-changing injuries.’
Meanwhile, the police have launched a manhunt to nab Abdul Shakoor Ezedi. As per reports, he was last spotted buying a bottle of water from a Tesco in the Caledonian Road area of North London.
Abdul is a native of Afghanistan and lives in Newcastle city of England. It has now come to light that he arrived in the United Kingdom in a lorry way back in 2016. Two years later, he was convicted ‘sexual assault/exposure.’
The last confirmed sighting of Abdul Ezedi was in Tesco on Caledonian Road, N1 at 8.48pm last night.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) February 1, 2024
If you see Ezedi, call 999 immediately. He should NOT be approached.
If you have information as to his whereabouts call 0207 175 2784https://t.co/qQq1MXYXes
He was given an unpaid work order as part of his sentence by the Newcastle Crown Court in 2018. Abdul was released from probationary supervision in 2020. He applied for asylum on two occasions but it was rejected.
The Islamist later claimed to have converted to Christianity and was granted asylum in 2021/2022. While speaking about the matter, police Superintendent Gabriel Cameron dubbed the incident as a ‘horrible crime against a vulnerable woman.’ He emphasised, “We will catch him, I’m wholeheartedly confident.”
An eyewitness identified as Shannon told the BBC, “As I run outside, I’ve seen this guy throwing a child on the floor, he picked her up and threw her again. I’ve then seen her mum walking up the road saying ‘I can’t see I can’t see’.”
Three of the UK's biggest police forces are at the core of a nationwide hunt for a man accused of an alkali attack in south London.https://t.co/aMNmfFnEiC
— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) February 2, 2024
She took the child to safety while her partner tried to apprehend a fleeing Abdul. “I chased him halfway down the road, but I was in slippers so didn’t get very far…As I came back, that’s when I saw the woman who had been attacked…so I ran inside to get some water and just sprayed her down with water,” her partner added.
