Boy, 15, is held over acid horror

A TEENAGE boy has been arrested after six people were injured in an apparent acid attack at a shopping centre.

Three victims were taken to hospital following the altercation between two groups of teenagers on Saturday evening inside the Stratford Centre, East London.

Horrified witnesses reported seeing people shouting after being covered in the substance, while one screamed that he had a ‘burning sensation on his skin’.

Another rushed into a Burger King toilet in a desperate attempt to wash the white liquid from his eyes before emergency services arrived.

A 15-year-old, arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following the incident which onlookers described as gang-related, was still in custody last night.

The busy shopping area stands just yards from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Imran Tahir Rizvi saw the brawl and said he had overheard the friends of one victim shouting about an ‘ acid attack’, before he saw a young man on the floor screaming about a burning pain.

Mr Rizvi said: ‘ They were screaming and shouting for help as he was feeling a burning sensation on his skin.

‘Initially people thought it was a fight. But the guys with the victim started shouting, “It is an acid attack, he is burning.”’ A man who gave his

‘They were screaming and shouting for help’

name as Hossen, 28, a Burger King assistant manager, added that he saw a victim and his friend run into the restaurant’s toilet ‘to wash acid off his face’.

He added: ‘There were cuts around his eyes and he was trying to chuck water into them.’

After the substance was thrown, several of the young men running into Stratford Station.

Another witness, named only as Eric, said: ‘I saw kids running around and kicking and punching each other, they can’t have been much older than 18.

‘There was one kid they were laying into right in front of me, kids are always causing trouble here, it is crazy stuff and this new weapon they are using these days is terrifying.’

It is the latest in a string of acid attacks in London this year, which has led to police officers being issued with 1,000 kits for responding to acid attacks.

Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan, Borough Commander for Newham, said: ‘What initially may have been perceived as a number of random attacks has, on closer inspection, been found to be one incident involving two groups of males.’