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Clapham chemical attack: New CCTV of suspect shows him smiling day before

Clapham chemical attack: New CCTV of suspect shows him smiling day before

New CCTV has been released of a man suspected of carrying out a chemical attack on a woman and her children in London.

In the footage, Abdul Ezedi can be seen shopping for groceries and smiling in Newcastle the day before the attack.

Ezedi, 35, has been urged by police to hand himself in after going on the run following the attack involving a corrosive alkaline substance in Clapham, southwest London, on Wednesday 31 January.

The Metropolitan Police has launched a manhunt to find a man thought to have fled the scene, with help from the British Transport Police and Northumbria Police in Newcastle, where Ezedi lived.

A £20,000 reward is on offer for information leading to Ezedi’s arrest, with police revealing the substance used in the attack was “very strong”, “concentrated” and “corrosive”.

The woman, who was known to Ezedi, remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition, while her daughters – aged eight and three – were also hurt, but their injuries are not thought to be life-changing.

Image:
Abdul Shokoor Ezedi
Pic: Met Police

Investigators believe there are people who know his whereabouts and have not come forward and the Met has warned anyone found helping him will face arrest.

More on Clapham Chemical Attack

Armed police were called to a false alarm at Manchester Piccadilly railway station on Saturday night, after reports of a sighting.

the search continues with police tracing the movements of Ezedi, who they say left Newcastle in the early hours of Wednesday and was in the Tooting area of London by around 6.30am.

His vehicle was seen again in Croydon, also in south London, at around 4.30pm and by around 7pm he was in Streatham.

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Ezedi allegedly threw the younger child to the ground during the attack at 7.25pm, before trying to drive away from the scene, crashing into a stationary vehicle and fleeing on foot.

Minutes later he boarded a Tube train at Clapham South Underground station, and by 8pm he was at King’s Cross Tube station.