Clapham chemical attacker slammed down child ‘like wrestling move’ | UK News

A witness to the Clapham chemical attack has described hearing the sound of a three-year-old being thrown to the ground – and how she thought the child might die in her arms.

The hunt for Abdul Ezedi, who is suspected of carrying out the alkali attack that left 12 people injured in the south-west London district, has entered its fifth day.

A 31-year-old mother, believed to be known to Ezedi, and her two daughters are believed to have been the initial targets.

New details about the initial incident on Wednesday evening have now emerged after a key witness, who was herself injured by the chemical, spoke to BBC News.

The woman, who has not been named, said she was just about to settle down and watch EastEnders when she heard shouting outside and left her home to see what was happening.

She watched as the suspect jumped from a white car and threw what she believed to be ‘a car seat or a bag’ to the ground.

‘The sound, the thud, the scream, that’s when I realised it was a little girl being slammed to the ground, like a WWF wrestling move,’ she said.

Already, two other men were on the scene and trying to pin down the attacker, the witness said, so she picked up the three-year-old and carried her to a hotel where her sister and ‘hysterical’ mother were being helped.

She added: ‘When I picked her up – the youngest child – she was trying to go to sleep.

‘I knew from watching 24 Hours in A&E that the best thing to do for head injuries is to place somebody into the recovery position, so that’s what I did.

‘But before I did, she just went limp. I thought the youngest of the two girls was about to die in my arms. Luckily the three-year-old woke up and started to call for her mum.’

The Met later said the two girls’ injuries were not ‘as serious as first thought’, but their mother remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition after suffering potentially life-changing injuries.

Later the same evening, the witness says she say what looked like black paint on her foot – and it wouldn’t come off when she took a shower.

When she started to feel a burning sensation, she returned to the hospital where she had gone in the ambulance with the youngest girl.

She said: ‘My foot is now black and swollen. Because of the adrenalin of the whole event, I didn’t think to check myself.’

A £20,000 reward is in place for anyone who has information that leads to the arrest of Ezedi.

The 35-year-old was last seen at Tower Hill Underground station in east London at 9.33pm on January 31.

Yesterday, it was reported that a brave passerby who stopped to help the victims of the attack had been left with burns to both her eyeballs.

Her partner said if she had not intervened then ‘the child would no longer be with us’, adding: ‘If our other neighbours hadn’t immediately taken the family and washed them down then their injuries would have been far worse.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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