London, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom police have offered up to 20,000 pounds (approx. $25,266) for information leading to the suspected chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi, on Sunday (Feb 4). This comes after an extensive nationwide search operation failed to locate the man who injured several people in south London after allegedly throwing a “corrosive substance” at them.
What did the UK police say?
The police announced a reward of up to 20,000 pounds for information about Ezedi, 35, the suspect in a chemical attack on a 31-year-old woman and her two daughters in south London’s Clapham.
The attack took place on Wednesday (Jan 31) which, apart from the family injured three others as well as three police officers who went to help.
On Sunday (Feb 4), Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said that the laboratory analysis of the substance used for the attack showed “a very strong concentrated corrosive substance, either liquid sodium hydroxide or liquid sodium carbonate”.
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The police are now comparing the substance with the containers seized from the 35-year-old’s home in Newcastle, said Savell.
Meanwhile, the detectives working on the case said that the people who know where he is have yet to come forward and warned that anyone found assisting Ezedi would be arrested. They also believe that there are people concealing his location, reported the British media.
Savell also thanked the public for the dozens of calls already received and said, “Your help is critical.” He added, “I must warn anyone who is helping Ezedi to evade capture, if you are harbouring or assisting him then you will be arrested.”
In its recent updates about the case, the Met police also said that the suspect was last seen leaving Tower Hill Underground station on Wednesday at around 9:33 pm (local time).
According to British media reports, Ezedi arrived in the UK from Afghanistan in a lorry in 2016 and was granted refugee status by 2022 on this third attempt, apparently on the basis that he had converted to Christianity.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and exposure charges but was not imprisoned.
About those injured
The 31-year-old woman, known to Ezedi, is in a critical but stable condition at a hospital and is said to have experienced life-changing injuries.
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Meanwhile, her daughters, aged three and eight, suffered injuries not “as serious as first thought.”
Three members of the public who came to the aid of the family have been discharged from the hospital with minor burns. Five police officers responding to the attack have also been treated and have now left the hospital.
(With inputs from agencies)