Acid is hurled at boy aged 3
“EVIL” thugs hurled acid into a three-year-old boy’s face in a horrific attack at a store.
Police say the toddler was deliberately targeted in the shocking incident.
The attack happened at Home Bargains in Tallow Hill, Worcester, as his family took him round the shop in a pushchair.
Stunned shoppers watched as a string of emergency service vehicles descended on Shrub Hill Retail Park on Saturday afternoon.
The boy, who lives in Worcester with his family, was rushed to hospital and was treated for serious burns to his arm and face before being discharged.
His long-term condition is not yet known.
West Mercia Police spent yesterday scouring the scene for the container used by his attackers.
Officers also released CCTV stills of three men they want to trace in connection with the terrifying incident.
Last night a 39-year-old man from Wolverhampton was being quizzed by police after being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
Witness Rachel Bryant, 22, said she saw a woman, thought to be the boy’s mum, break down in tears at the shop.
She said: “I saw a woman crying and being comforted by police. I didn’t know what it was all about.
“When I heard about the little boy being attacked with acid I couldn’t believe it.”
Home Bargains shopper Barry Keville, 64, said: “It’s diabolical.
“You hear about it in other towns and cities and we think that’s not close to home.
“But when it’s this close to home it’s quite frightening as you use the shop. You wonder what is going to happen next.” Worcester City Council leader Marc Bayliss described the attack as “absolutely pure evil”.
He added: “Worcester is not that sort of place.
“We are a quintessential small English city.
“I have never heard of an acid attack in Worcester so this is absolutely not something we have any experience of.”
Chief Supt Mark Travis said: “We are treating this as a deliberate attack on a three-year-old boy.
“The incident will rightly shock the local community.”
He added: “At this time, the motive for the attack is unclear.
“The child has now been released from hospital, he is back home with his family.
“He has burns to his face and to one of his arms.
“We are uncertain about the longterm implications of those burns but we do hope that these won’t be life-changing injuries.”