Met Police name suspect wanted for alkaline attack as Abdul Ezedi
Police investigating a corrosive alkaline substance attack which left a toddler and her mother with potentially lifechanging injuries have named the suspect as Abdul Ezedi.
The 35-year-old alleged attacker, from the Newcastle area, was described by Metropolitan Police Superintendent Gabriel Cameron as having “significant injuries to the right side of his face” following the incident in south London on Wednesday.
Last night it was revealed he had been convicted of "sexual assault/exposure" in 2018, before being granted asylum in 2021 or 2022, having been refused asylum twice previously. He had arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016
The last-known sighting of Ezedi placed him on Caledonian Road, in Islington, at 8.48pm last night.
A 31-year-old woman, who is believed to be known to Ezedi, and her three-year-old daughter, alongside her other daughter,aged eight, remain in hospital in as table condition.
A manhunt is under way for the “dangerous” suspect after he also allegedly threw the younger child to the ground in the attack in Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, at about 7.25pm.
Police said in his attempt to drive away from the scene, the attacker crashed into a stationary vehicle and made off on foot.
The officer urged the public not to ap pro ac he zedi, after the Met previously described him as a“dangerous individual ”. mr Cameron said: “The male was last seen in the north London area – Caledonian Road – and if you see him... I plea for you not to approach him, call 999.”
Mr Cameron said: “He’s come down from Newcastle.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly, who described the attack as “appalling”, said: “My thoughts are with them[ the victims] and the brave members of the public and police who intervened. “It would be inappropriate to comment on a suspect’s immigration status during a live police investigation.”
The suspect is believed to have used a corrosive alkaline substance, but the officer said he did not know if it was a household product. Products such as bleach and oven cleaner are alkaline substances.
Three members of the public who came to the aid of the family, two in their 30s and one in her 50s, have all been discharged from hospital with minor burns injuries.
The force said five officers who responded to the incident have also been treated and have now left hospital.
One witness to the attack, bus driver shannon christi, said she was affected by the substance while trying to help the woman and two children outside her home. She said: “I heard a bang and I heard someone saying ‘help’. I run outside and as I run outside I’ve seen this guy throwing a child on the floor, he picked her up and threw her again. So at that point I ran in and I grabbed her and took her into my block.”
Ms Christi said the three-yearold girl she had helped was crying and did not give her name, meanwhile the older child stood outside her block of flats and was also in tears.
She added: “I’ve then seen her mum walking up the road again saying ‘I can’t see, I can’t see’.
“I shouted for my partner and he had run down the road trying to chase the man.”