Manhunt for Clapham chemical attack suspect enters sixth day
Officers have been searching for the 35-year-old since last Wednesday.
Last updated 6th Feb 2024
The manhunt for corrosive liquid attack suspect Abdul Ezedi is continuing into its sixth day, with a £20,000 reward in place for anyone with information leading to his arrest.
Metropolitan Police officers have been searching for the 35-year-old since last Wednesday after a woman and her two daughters, aged eight and three, were hurt in Clapham.
The 31-year-old mother may lose the sight in her right eye, police said on Monday.
Police also said the most recent sighting of Ezedi was at about 9.50pm on Wednesday near Southwark Bridge, but there is no suggestion that he jumped in the Thames.
Commander Jon Savell said investigators are keeping an open mind as to where he may be or what may have happened to him.
They tracked his movements around the Tube network using his bank card, but it has not been used since Wednesday.
Ezedi, who is from Newcastle, is not the father of the children in the attack and was in the capital visiting the victim, police believe.
Counter-terrorism officers have been drafted in to help scour hundreds of hours of CCTV in the search for the 35-year-old.
Detectives are working on the premise that he is either being hidden by someone or has come to harm.
Officers arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender on Monday and later released him on bail.
However, they said there is no evidence to suggest Ezedi had made advance preparations to go on the run.
More than 200 calls have been received from members of the public with potential sightings, but they have since been discounted.
Ezedi allegedly threw the younger child to the ground during the attack at 7.25pm before attempting to drive away from the scene, crashing into a stationary vehicle and fleeing on foot.
Three members of the public who came to the aid of the family during Wednesday's attack, two aged in their 30s and one in her 50s, have all been discharged from hospital with minor burns.