Man held after ‘acid attack’ on boy, 3, in pushchair
A three-year-old boy in a pushchair was doused with a corrosive liquid while shopping with his mother, in what police believe was a planned attack.
Detectives released images of three men yesterday after the boy was left with serious burns to his face and an arm from a substance ‘‘thrown or sprayed’’ from close range.
The pictures showed the men in casual summer clothes walking through the aisles of a shop shortly before the attack.
The boy was attacked on Saturday at about 2.15pm local time at Home Bargains, a domestic supplies shop in Worcester. A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and remained in police custody.
West Mercia police said that it had not yet established a motive. Local politicians believed that there had never been an acid attack in Worcester. The liquid was either an acid or alkali, both of which can cause severe burns, detectives said.
Chief Superintendent Mark Travis said that the boy had been discharged from hospital and was recovering at home with his family, who were being supported by specialist officers.
‘‘A young family were out shopping and a substance appears to either have been thrown or sprayed towards a child in a pushchair,’’ he said. ‘‘We are uncertain about the longterm implications of those burns but we do hope that these won’t be life-changing injuries.’’
He said detectives were hopeful that the prompt release of the images from CCTV cameras at the shop would ‘‘bring forward information about people who may be able to help us, who were in the store at the time of the incident’’. - The Times