Nine people have been injured after a suspected acid attack in Clapham, South London.
Based on information from the Met Police, officials responded at the scene of Lessar Avenue SW4 in Lambeth around 7.25pm in the evening. A total of nine individuals, including a woman, her two children and three officers were injured as a result of the incident.
Officials are currently working to locate the suspect and have deployed a helicopter to help in the search.
It’s believed that three passersby had tried to come to the aid of the woman and her children, before suffering injuries themselves. The injuries of the responding officers are thought to be minor, Detective Superintendent Alexander Castle said in a news release.
All of the injured individuals were treated on scene, with five being transported to a major trauma centre. Three were taken to a local hospital for treatment and one other person was discharged at the scene.
Mr Castle said officials will release more information about the victims’ conditions once details become available.
“While tests are ongoing to determine what the substance is, at this stage we believe it to be a corrosive substance,” Mr Castle said.
Marina Ahmad, a London assembly member, said the suspected acid attack stemmed from a traffic collision, adding that a man was “assaulting occupants in a car and throwing acid,” she wrote on X.
In a written statement, the London Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene around 7.29pm and deployed a number of resources, including two incident response officers, three ambulance crews and members of its hazardous area response team.
Mr Castle said officials are using all their resources to make an arrest in the incident.
“A man was seen fleeing the scene. We are drawing on resources from across the Met to apprehend this individual and work is ongoing to determine what has led to this awful incident,” he said.
Any members of the public who have information regarding the incident are encouraged to call 999.
This is a developing story…