The UK has faced some bad news over the last few weeks, from a huge Saharan dust cloud descending on the country to potentially life-threatening bacteria being discovered in the rivers.
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Yesterday evening, on 31 January, a horrific attack was carried out in Clapham, London.
The news erupted with reports of an acid attack that saw one man injure nine people. The police named a suspect and have now released images of the man in question. Here’s everything you need to know about the attack and the ongoing manhunt.
The attack
The incident took place before 7:30PM on Lessar Avenue, a street that runs from the south of Clapham Common. According to a witness who spoke to Sky News, a man in a white van with two children as passengers seemed to have had a heated fight with a woman. The witness said that ‘it looked like he tried to run over a woman’.
The man then grabbed one of the two children from the van and ‘slammed’ them on the ground. A man who had also witnessed this abuse gave more detail, explaining that ‘it was horrific’:
First a man grabbed his kid - a girl aged two or three from a white car. He threw her onto the floor - twice! It was the worst thing I've ever seen.
A split second later, it became clear a chemical had been used in the attack. The woman started shouting, ‘My eyes! My eyes! Call the police, my eyes!'
The male witness chased the attacker down the street, but he was in his slippers and couldn’t keep up: the man got away.
Nine people were treated at the scene of the crime, with five taken to a major trauma centre. Three were taken to a local hospital and one was discharged at the scene.
It has since been revealed that the woman is 31 and her daughters are eight and three. The liquid used to attack them - which also hurt people who came to help - has been described as a ‘corrosive substance’, but the police are yet to identify the exact weapon used.
Who is the suspect?
Earlier this afternoon, police named the suspect as Abdul Shokoor. He transpired that he tried to escape in a car but ended up legging it - there’s even CCTV footage of him tripping over a speed bump. He is believed to be from the Newcastle area.
Police have now released images of the suspect, who is 35. Supt Gabriel Cameron, from the Met, told the public:
If you see him, do not approach him.
He is thought to have a ‘significant injury’ to the right side of his face, so should be easy to recognise. They have ‘no idea’ what his motivation was for the attack, and urge anyone who sees him to call the police right away. Shokoor was last spotted on Caledonian Road in north London.
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Sources used:
BBC: Police hunt for suspect after mother and girls hurt in Clapham alkali attack
The Sun: ON THE RUN New video from Clapham chemical attack shows man fleeing after 12 injured including a mum & daughters
Sky News: Nine injured after 'corrosive substance' thrown in Clapham, south London
