IT was an act of violent brutality that sickened the nation.
Just days into the new year, Abdul Ezedi travelled down from Newcastle to target his ex-partner, aged 31, and her two children, aged eight and three, dousing them with chemicals before fleeing the scene.
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But worryingly, the monstrous incident in Clapham, North London – which left a total of 12 people injured – has proved far from an isolated case.
Recent figures show attacks and other offences involving corrosive substances rose by a terrifying 75 per cent last year, with only eight per cent of attacks led to someone being charged.
Now, after two pupils and a teacher were hospitalised this week following a chilling acid attack outside a school, fears are growing that the UK could see a return to the horrors of the previous crime wave that sparked terror across the nation.
And as gangs snap up ever bigger ‘zombie’ knives to fend off rivals, experts have warned of an ‘arms race’ for grisly substances as thugs seek to gain the upper hand.
Dr Simon Harding, a professor in criminology and sociology at St Mary’s University Twickenham, describes the upswing in acid attack cases as “very worrying.”
“It’s always been part of the weaponry or the repertoire of people with criminal intent,” he tells The Sun.
“Those who feel aggrieved, those who want to seek revenge, those who want to take violent action against somebody else.
“But it is a particularly despicable weapon to choose.
“I’m certainly hoping we don’t see a repeat of 2017-2018, which we could even call the summer of acid attacks. It was quite dreadful.”
Figures obtained through freedom of information requests to police forces show that 1,244 offences were recorded in 2023, compared with 710 from the year before, a rise of 75 per cent. It follows a 69 per cent rise recorded for the year before.
Surge in offences
Jaf Shah, director of Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), who sourced the stats, said: “There has to be action taken about threats from the beginning to prevent those threats from escalating into physical attacks.
“Our new data shows that acid violence is an escalating problem in our country,” he said.
“We are asking our leaders to take urgent action and stop these atrocious crimes, which leave victims forever scarred.”
Most concerning of all, the figures suggest that only eight per cent of attacks led to someone being charged – meaning the vast majority of perpetrators are left free to roam the streets.
ASTI added that the actual figures were likely to be even worse than the data shows, as crimes of this nature are often not reported to police by victims.
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School horror
This year has sadly seen a string of horrific acid assaults – particularly in London, which has long been dubbed a ‘hotspot’ for attacks.
On Monday afternoon, two teenagers and a teacher were hospitalised after being doused by a masked assailant outside of Westminster Academy.
Schoolgirl Teegan McFarlane, 14, has been left with injuries that have been described as “life-changing” and has undergone reconstructive surgery.
Her father Corey McFarlane said “words could not express the shock, pain, and trauma” currently being felt by his daughter by physically and mentally.
In an online post, he added: “Teagan’s injuries are not life-threatening at this time, but it’s still early days, and she will need plenty of rest.”
A 35-year-old man was arrested yesterday over the attack, following a manhunt.
Police are also probing whether the attack is linked to a dispute at her school, according to the family.
Eyeballs burnt
In January, 12 people were injured in Ezedi’s brutal attack in Clapham after being sprayed with a corrosive alkaline liquid.
After spraying his targets with the chemical, the assailant – who moved to the UK from Afghanistan in 2016 – tried to run down his ex-partner and slammed her younger daughter to the ground “like a rag doll”.
One brave passerby who intervened in the attack sustained injuries that left “both eyeballs” burnt.
The partner of the person who intervened said: “I have no doubt that if my partner had not jumped in then the child would no longer be with us, and if our other neighbours hadn’t immediately taken the family and washed them down then their injuries would have been far worse.
It can be easily disguised, easily portable, easily carried, and easily thrown – and that’s the problem
Dr Simon Harding
After a high-profile manhunt and with a £20,000 reward put on his head, Ezedi’s body was found in the River Thames near Tower Bridge.
Meanwhile, in February a woman was left “burning” and her skin blistered after being doused with a substance in a pub in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
Weapon of choice
With over 40 years of experience, Dr Harding is an expert in gang violence, acid attacks and knife crime.
While knives remain involved in the majority of gang assaults, he explains that acid remains a popular choice for one simple reason.
“If you attack somebody with a knife, you have to get really close to them – and of course, if they have a larger knife than you, then it’s a problem,” he said.
“But acid – because it can be sprayed – allows the person with it to attack someone while remaining out of reach.
“If you throw acid at somebody, and they are carrying a knife, then they will drop the knife and cover their face, which leaves them prone – so therefore you gain an advantage in any altercation.
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Unlike in other countries – where the majority of acid attack victims are women – most incidents in the UK are male-on-male, though recent statistics show that the number of women being targeted in on the rise.
Dr Harding added: “It’s very much situated within the context of robbery, acquisitive crime, or gang violence – so the public can perhaps take some solace in the fact that many of these attacks are targeted and not random.”
Arms race
It’s feared that the rise of acid attacks could be the next stage in an arms race that has seen thugs reach for bigger and bigger weapons, such as machetes and katanas, in order to gain an advantage over others.
The concerning rise in reported attacks marks a reversal of the trend that had seen the number of attacks decline from their peak in 2017, during which there were 427 incidents in London alone.
In one horrifying case, 22 people were injured in a nightclub in Dalston after Arthur Collins – Ferne McCann’s ex – sprayed the crowd following an altercation with a group of men.
Of those injured, 16 suffered serious burns and one required a skin graft, while victims at the trial told of how they could smell burning and felt their skin blister immediately.
The spate of incidents prompted changes in the law that targeted the sale and possession of corrosive substances.
How to treat an acid attack
- Immediately rinse the affected area with fresh water or saline (saltwater) solution – always make sure this source is uncontaminated
- Keep washing the burned body part with cool water until the pain begins to subside. This can take around 45 minutes
- Take off any clothes/jewellery that have made contact with the acid
- As tempting as it is to add cream to give some relief, this could affect the treatment prescribed by doctors
- If possible, loosely wrap the burn area in sterilised gauze, which helps prevent the wound from contamination
- After hospital treatment, patients are advised to stick to a strict aftercare regime – which includes changing dressings on a regular basis
- In serious cases, doctors may prescribe physiotherapy for victims whose nervous system has been affected by the burn
- Others will be offered skin grafts to help reduce symptoms and cosmetic signs of the attack
- As acid assaults are traumatic, patients may also be advised to seek counselling
Despite these changes, the nature of acid makes it hard to enforce against.
“One of the challenges around acid and corrosive liquids is that they’re ubiquitous – they’re used in many forms of manufacturing and production,” says Dr Harding.
“In terms of how they present, they’re quite often odourless, and you wouldn’t be able to tell what it was if it was in a bottle. It can be easily disguised, easily portable, easily carried, and easily thrown – and that’s the problem.”
Given these challenges, connecting with potential assailants and intervening before they attack is our best hope of reversing the rise, believes Dr Harding.
He added: “The way to tackle this is to work with young people, work with youth workers, and really develop a conversation that makes people realise how absolutely uncivilised and obnoxious this kind of crime is and the devastating effects it has on people.”
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Escalating youth violence
Dr Harding also warns that the normalisation of dangerous new weapons like zombie knives risks an escalation in violent incidents among young people.
“Knives of all types are readily available to young people – but worryingly, it appears that they have become a kind of credible action,” he says.
“Young people might reach for them now and carry them in a way that 10, 20 years ago they simply didn’t do – so what’s worrying is the way they become seen as a credible course of action.”
In April this year, two teachers and a pupil in a school in Wales were stabbed by a 13-year-old schoolgirl, who is currently on trial and cannot be named.
Last Friday, two 12-year-old boys were jailed for life for murdering 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai last November, making them the UK’s youngest killers since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were convicted of killing two-year-old James Bulger in 1993.
The trial heard that the killers, who “often” had a 42.5cm long machete on them, stamped on and “chopped” at the victim.
They then delivered a fatal wound 20cm deep that punctured his heart.
In his conversations with young people at risk of participating in violence, Dr Harding said he found many have misconceptions around the prevalence of knife-carrying.
He said: “There’s a lot of myth around knives, and people will claim that they’re carrying a knife when they’re not really doing so – young people can have a perception that everybody carries a knife.
“We know that this is simply not the case, but if you’re living in an area that may be affected by gangs or contested between two rival groups, you may feel under threat.
“When I do interview young people, they tell me they feel unsafe in these areas, and that they’re fearful – and if they’re fearful, they’re going to try and protect themselves.”
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