Two men hospitalised after being sprayed with acid in London

Two young men have been rushed to the hospital after being attacked with acid on a busy street in East London on Tuesday, reported The Guardian.

The attack – the latest in a series including one on an aspiring Muslim model and her cousin – took place around 7 pm in Tower Hamlets. Eye witnesses to the incident state that police officers were flagged down by two men who claimed they had been sprayed with acid.



According to the reports, they ran into an off-license with the burning liquid on their clothes and on their faces. The shopkeeper poured water over the two while they waited for an ambulance to arrive. They were treated at the scene before being taken to the hospital as well.

Witness reports stated the pair were shouting: “We have got acid on us, we have got acid on us.” The shopkeeper added: “They were pouring water over themselves and it had got into their clothes. They were crying, ‘put water on me’. Their faces and their legs were all burnt.”

Another witness, who did not want to be named, told The Guardian that the pair had stripped down to their waists on the street and were helped by passersby as they waited for the emergency services. Pictures circulating on social media show that the men were being helped by firefighters – and they showed a jacket with the material singed.

The number of reported attacks using corrosive substances has leapt in recent months, with a reported 65% rise in 2016, when there were 450. The Metropolitan police has given response vehicles 1,000 acid attack kits this week after the rise in such crimes. It includes protective gear, and five-liter bottles of water to allow officers to administer immediate treatment if required.

On Monday, MPs debated the spike in the use of corrosive substances as a weapon – while the Met police’s deputy commissioner, Craig Mackey, told the Greater London Authority’s police and crime committee that officers believed it was being used more frequently by gang members as a weapon.



The government is looking to reclassify noxious substances to take into account their growing use as weapons, the deputy commissioner stated: “The impact this sort of attack has on people is extraordinary. Many of us have been unfortunate to see quite a bit in our services but acid attacks are really extraordinary and strike at something quite horrific in people’s psyche.”

Speaking about the incident, a Metropolitan police spokesman said: “Officers were flagged down in the area at 7pm on Tuesday 25 July by the two males who are believed to be aged in their late teens. London Ambulance Service attended the scene. Both have been taken to an east London hospital for treatment after an unknown liquid was thrown at them. Their injuries are not life threatening. No arrest have been made and inquiries are ongoing.”