In Britain, an alarming rise in acid attacks

The Washington Post

LONDON — Jabed Hussain said he was really lucky. The delivery driver was one of the latest victims in an alarming surge of acid attacks in Britain.

He was still trembling when he said, “But they didn’t get my face. They didn’t ruin me.”

Attacks by people throwing acid at their victims has tripled in the past three years in Britain, stoking fears that almost anyone can be the victim — from a moped rider to the city banker or politician.

The alarming rise comes amid a clampdown on weapons and fears of a frightening new crime fad involving teenage motorbike thieves using corrosive substances, in part because they are relatively easy to obtain.

Mr. Hussain, 30, was riding his three-wheel scooter, stopped at a traffic light in East London earlier this month, when he felt what he thought was water, doused on him by a pair of faceless teenagers in wraparound helmets, mounted on a motorbike beside him.

“Then I started to feel the burning, and I knew instantly what it was,” Mr. Hussain said. “Because this is what we are all fearing.”

He ripped off his helmet and began clawing at his clothing. His assailants stole his bike and sped away, as Mr. Hussain begged passing motorists for help.

“I must have looked like a mad man,” he said. “Nobody would roll down their windows for me.”

The United Kingdom is a safe country, but the spike in acid attacks is clearly unnerving — when a possible assailant is anyone with bottle of bleach, ammonia or drain cleaner.

“Because it is not like seeing a gun or a knife,” said Rachel Kearton, assistant chief constable of the Suffolk Police, the National Police Chief Council’s top investigator on corrosive attacks. “Because the intent is to maim and disfigure.”

According to the London Metropolitan Police and regional police chiefs, there were more than 700 acid attacks last year, double the number in 2015.

Constable Kearton told The Washington Post it appears likely that acid attack numbers will increase by another 50 percent this year.

Police chiefs say there isn’t a single motive behind the attacks, but acknowledge gangs and robberies seem to be playing a part. Some of the attackers are only teenagers — of those whose ages are known, 21 percent under the age of 18. The most common corrosive liquids are bleach, ammonia and acid.

According to leaders in London’s City Hall, “many recent acid attacks are connected to violent and aggressive organized scooter theft.”

In a recent statement, they said “this is particularly frightening for people who ride scooters in London.”

Scooter drivers have staged a number of protests to highlight their concerns about being doused with acid in attempted bike robberies.

Police, victims and the gang members agree — there is just something terrifying about being splashed with acid.