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Emergency services near the crime scene in south London
Photo: Henry Nicholls / AFP
A woman and her two children were injured in an attack with a corrosive substance in London. Nine other people were also injured, including passers-by who tried to help the victims after the incident on Wednesday evening, police said.
A man fled the scene, the Metropolitan Police said. She later published the photo from a surveillance camera in a supermarket in north London that was supposed to show the wanted man. Accordingly, he himself has serious injuries on his face that make him recognizable. According to initial investigations, he knew the children's mother. It was a targeted attack on the victim, but the man was also a dangerous person for the general public. "We urgently need to find him," said Superintendent Gabriel Cameron.
The mother, aged 31, and her two daughters aged eight and three are still in hospital. Three other women who bravely came to their aid left the clinic with minor chemical burns. Another helper and five police officers who were called were also slightly injured.
Investigators were called to the crime scene in the southern district of Clapham on Wednesday evening. Pictures showed an open car, the street was cordoned off. Police said they received a report that a man had thrown a child to the ground. In addition, a substance is said to have been thrown - investigators assume it is lye.
The mother and her younger daughter likely suffered “life-changing” injuries, police said. The background to the crime was unclear and no one was initially arrested. The man is said to have tried to escape in a car, caused an accident and then fled on foot. The police called on people with information to come forward.
lpz/dpa