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The Metropolitan Police have released the latest images of injured Clapham chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi as he boarded a tube train on Wednesday and urged him to ‘hand himself in’. 

CCTV images of Ezedi in a Tesco in North London had prompted speculation that he may have returned to Newcastle where he lived prior to the attack, however police now say he was last seen boarding a Victoria line train south and is thought to be in the city. 

Ezedi is on the run from police after being suspected of carrying out a ‘targeted’ attack on the mother and her two daughters, aged three and eight, on Wednesday night. 

Police say that following a raid on an address connected to Ezedi in Newcastle, officers located ‘two empty containers with corrosive warnings on the label [and that] tests are currently ongoing to see if the containers held the substance used in the attack.’

At a press conference this afternoon, police confirmed the mother who was attacked is now sedated with ‘life changing injuries’ whilst her two children are also receiving treatment for non life-changing injuries. 

The Met Police have released new images of Clapham chemical attack Abdul Ezedi strolling injured through King's Cross station following Wednesday's events

The Met Police have released new images of Clapham chemical attack Abdul Ezedi strolling injured through King’s Cross station following Wednesday’s events 

Police say Ezedi was last seen heading south on a Victoria Line service

Police say Ezedi was last seen heading south on a Victoria Line service 

Police have confirmed Abdul Ezedi, 35, may still be in London after he was seen heading south

Police have confirmed Abdul Ezedi, 35, may still be in London after he was seen heading south

The suspect later appeared at a Tesco store on Caledonian Road, Islington, dressed in a black hoodie and blue T-shirt on January 31 at 8.48pm

The suspect later appeared at a Tesco store on Caledonian Road, Islington, dressed in a black hoodie and blue T-shirt on January 31 at 8.48pm

Making his direct appeal to Abdul Ezedi, Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said: ‘Abdul, you clearly have got some very significant injuries.

‘We’ve seen the images. You need some medical help, so do the right thing and hand yourself in.’

Police say Ezedi travelled to London in the early hours of Wednesday morning and was spotted in Tooting at 6:30am. 

He then travelled to Croydon where he was seen at 4:30am and Streatham at 7:00pm.

The attack occurred at 7:25pm in Clapham South and Azedi boarded a Northern Line train heading to King’s Cross from the station at 7:33pm.

Shortly after this, he was pictured sporting significant facial injuries on a Tesco on Caledonian Road, Islington before he boarded a southbound Victoria line train at 9pm.

His current whereabouts remain unknown.

The Metropolitan Police are facing questions about why vital images of the suspect in the Clapham South acid attack took so long to be published potentially helping Abdul Shokoor Ezedi evade capture. 

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline that it had been dealing with ‘a very traumatic incident in which three people and a number of police officers had been injured’ and that images were released ‘less than 24 hours after the incident.’ 

Commander Jon Savell said that ‘significant and important pieces of evidence’ were recovered in searches carried out in east London and Newcastle on Thursday night.

He said: ‘In terms of our manhunt for Ezedi, we’ve got a large team of very experienced detectives leading the manhunt, using all the tactics that you would expect us to use, lots of officers out on the ground.

‘We’re working very closely with colleagues from Transport for London, British Transport Police and our colleagues in Northumbria Police as well.

‘Last night, five search warrants were executed – two in East London and three up in Newcastle. We’ve recovered some significant and important pieces of evidence which will help with our investigation.’

Police in hazmat suits raid a home in east London amid the search for Clapham chemical attack fugitive Abdul Ezedi

Police in hazmat suits raid a home in east London amid the search for Clapham chemical attack fugitive Abdul Ezedi

Officers were seen smashing in the doors of the property shortly after 2am

Officers were seen smashing in the doors of the property shortly after 2am

A mother injured in a chemical attack in London on Wednesday is sedated and ‘very poorly’ in hospital. 

Ezedi’s movements on the day of the attack

Police have released a timeline of Abdul Ezedi’s movements on the day of the attack. 

00:15 – Ezedi’s vehicle is seen in Newcastle

06:30 – His vehicle is then seen traveling into Tooting, London

16:30 – A further sighting of his vehicle is confirmed in Croydon

19:00 – He is then seen driving in Streatham

19:25 – Attack takes place in Lessar Avenue, SW4, before Ezedi makes off in his vehicle which crashes nearby. He leaves the car and runs off.

19:33 – Ezedi boards a train at Clapham South Tube Station.

19:59 – He is then seen leaving that train at King’s Cross Tube Station.

20:42 – He is then seen on CCTV leaving Tesco at 21 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DX. He exits and turns right.

21:00 – Ezedi enters King’s Cross Tube Station and boards a Victoria Line tube Southbound.

A 31-year-old woman and her daughters, aged three and eight, were injured in the incident. 

Giving an update on their conditions on Friday, Commander Savell said: ‘The mother remains very poorly in hospital and she’s sedated at the moment. We expect that those injuries will be life-changing.’ 

He said the two children who were with her do not have injuries as serious as initially thought. 

He said: ‘They are not likely to be life-changing (injuries). They remain with mum in the care of the NHS and we, of course, wish them the very best recovery that we can.’ 

People who knew the suspected Clapham South chemical attacker say he was ‘a good Muslim’ who bought Halal meat, avoided alcohol and planned to return home ‘to find a wife’ prior to the incident. 

It has emerged that refugee Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35, who pleaded guilty to sex assault and exposure charges in 2018 but was not jailed, had been living in Newcastle after arriving in the UK in 2016 on the back of a lorry. 

He avoided jail after being handed a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for the sexual assault at Newcastle Crown Court on January 9, 2018. 

For the exposure he was given 36 weeks’ imprisonment to be served consecutively, which was also suspended for two years.

Abdul Ezedi’s crimes saw him placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

It means he still had several years to serve as a registered sex offender when his asylum application was granted at the third time of asking.

Authorities and leaders from the Church of England are now facing questions after it emerged that Ezedi, who is originally from Iran, was allowed to stay in the UK following two failed asylum applications after converting to Christianity. 

In 2020 or 2021, it is understood a priest vouched for his conversion and argued he was ‘wholly committed’ to his new religion – which aided his application. 

Despite his crimes he was later granted the right to stay in the UK on his third asylum application in either 2020 or 2021, after a priest vouched that he had converted to Christianity. 

The Church of England has been criticised in the past for aiding migrants from refugee backgrounds with their asylum claims if they convert. 

Residents in the hostel where Ezedi most recently lived in Byker, Newcastle, were unaware of his conviction.

One said: ‘We didn’t know we were living next to a registered sex offender.

‘People knew he’d been granted asylum but it makes you wonder how when he was on the sex offenders register.

‘Other residents should have been informed before he was moved in.’

Speaking to The Telegraph, Alan Mendoza, of the Henry Jackson Society counter-extremism think tank, said:  ‘Abdul Ezedi should never have been granted asylum status in the UK in the first place following multiple failed attempts and a sexual offences conviction.

‘That he was allowed to stay after an obviously false conversion to Christianity highlights the continued problem of the complicity of various British institutions in what has become a pro-asylum industry. The consequences of this are frequently devastating.’

The Church of England said it is not currently aware of any links to its churches.  

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: ‘This is clearly a shocking and distressing incident, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by it.

‘It is the role of the Home Office, and not the Church, to vet asylum seekers and judge the merits of their individual cases.’

Another similar case was the one of Iraqi-born Emad Al Swealmeen.

The 32-year-old died from a blast and subsequent fire after his homemade bomb detonated in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2021.

He went to considerable lengths to stay in the UK, including converting to Christianity to support his failed asylum claim.

Abdul Ezedi’s own brother has now urged him to give himself up to police.

Today younger brother Sebaghallah Ezedi, 22, said he believed that Abdul should face justice for his crimes and urged him to hand himself in to police.

The home of Sebaghallah in east London was raided by specialist Met Police officers in the early hours of this morning.

He said: ‘Abdul should give himself up to police. He should be caught and face justice for what he has done.’

MailOnline revealed that Ezedi has more recently living in the Byker area of Newcastle in a hostel on the city's Wilfred Street

MailOnline revealed that Ezedi has more recently living in the Byker area of Newcastle in a hostel on the city’s Wilfred Street

St Vincent's Centre, in Byker, Newcastle, where acid attack suspect Abdul Ezedi visited the Justice and Peace Refugee Project every two weeks for toiletries and food

St Vincent’s Centre, in Byker, Newcastle, where acid attack suspect Abdul Ezedi visited the Justice and Peace Refugee Project every two weeks for toiletries and food

An asylum support worker who knew wanted man Abdul Ezedi said he was shocked by the violence he is accused off.

The charity worker, based near Newcastle city centre, checked his records and said Ezedi was from Iran, not Afghanistan as had previously been thought .

He also said the 35-year-old, wanted for a horrific corrosive liquid attack in south London, showed no signs of mental health issues or violent behaviour previously.

The charity worker, who asked not to named said: ‘He has been coming here for more than two years, since I took over the project here.

‘At the time he was identified as a destitute asylum seeker and did not have access to Home Office support.

‘He was registered as someone who needs essential food and furniture.

‘We looked at his legal documents, what is his status in the country.

‘Over time, I knew him by his face.

‘He often came to the centre, every three, four or five weeks.

‘He seemed a calm person, sitting in the corner by himself, there was never, ever any complaint or any trouble.

‘He never showed any aggressive behaviour.

‘When I saw his photo on the news last night I was shocked, I never expected such a person would be violent to that extent.

‘He was last here two or three weeks ago.

‘We were not aware he had been granted the right to remain, we were not aware he had a criminal record.’

The project manager did not know about Ezedi’s conversion to Christianity.

He was worried that the outcry about the case would affect other, innocent asylum seekers.

The worker said: ‘Unfortunately, there is a stereotype about asylum matters these days.

‘One incident like this can affect a lot of people and have a severe impact on others who are innocent, decent people.

‘I would straight away ask him to give himself up, get medical attention and say he has to be held accountable for what he has done.

‘Some clients here have mental health issues, they can sometimes react in an aggressive, violent way, but this is someone you would never expect, this is shocking.’

Meanwhile it emerged today that as well as working in a pizza takeaway, Abdul Ezedi had also been earning money working part time as a building contractor. In 2022 he was one of a team of builders working on a house renovation in Newcastle.

Ezedi was recognised by workmen from Terence Wilkinson roofing contractors.

A workman from the firm said: ‘He was working on the same house while we were there, not for us but alongside our guys.

‘He was part of a team of contractors and appeared to have some experience in building work.

‘He’s pretty distinctive to look at and when our guys saw the pictures released by the police we knew it was him.

‘He didn’t say much, just got on with his job but it’s frightening to think he was capable of something like that.’

Staff at a Kurdish grocery shop in the Byker area of Newcastle where Ezedi lived told The Times that he would come in every two weeks to buy half of a halal sheep that he would then cut up and put in his freezer.

They claimed he told people he wanted to return to Afghanistan to find a wife, and described him as ‘a good Muslim’ who did not drink alcohol.

Bilal Khan, owner of Billy’s Garage in Byker, near where Ezedi had lived, said the wanted man had been ‘persistent’ when trying to buy a car off him last summer.

Mr Khan said: ‘He approached me last year asking if I had a car for sale. We had one which he was interested in and I told him the price. He was a very persistent type of guy, he doesn’t let things go easily.’

Mr Khan indicated that Ezedi lived in a nearby halfway house.

Wednesday’s horrific attack on Lessar Road at 7.25pm left the mother, who one witness said was ‘blinded’, and her youngest daughter with ‘life changing injuries’.

Timeline of Abdul Ezedi’s time in the UK:  

2016

Ezedi arrives in the UK illegally in the back of a lorry after fleeing from Afghanistan. He had two applications for asylum rejected. 

2018

Ezedi is handed a suspended sentence and an unpaid work order by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court after being convicted of a sexual assault/exposure offence.

He is placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. 

2020 

Ezedi finishes his work unpaid work order and is discharged from probation supervision.

2020-2021

It is understood Ezedi was granted asylum on his third application – despite his criminal history – after getting a priest to vouch that he had converted to Christianity. 

He said he was ‘wholly committed’ to his new religion.

January 31 2024

Ezedi is suspected of carrying out a ‘targeted’ attack on a mother and her two daughters, aged three and eight, in Clapham, south London. 

The elder child is also said to have suffered bruising and burn-like injuries. All three remain in hospital in a stable condition.

The Met has urged the public to stay away from ‘dangerous’ Ezedi who was also hurt in the horror that unfolded.

The force last night released CCTV footage of Ezedi buying a bottle of water in a north London Tesco, on Caledonian Road, in Islington, around an hour after the attack on Wednesday evening.

Police said Ezedi sustained ‘significant injuries’ in the attack, which officers say was ‘targeted’. 

He is accused of leaping on the ‘vulnerable’ mother and her two daughters, hurling a corrosive alkaline substance from a metal coffee cup leaving the woman screaming: ‘I can’t see, I can’t see!’ 

Horrified locals who ran out to help described the victims’ skin turning black and peeling away on contact with the highly toxic chemical, commonly found in household cleaners such as bleach and drain cleaner.

Several residents on the leafy street near Clapham Common, where houses fetch up to £3 million, were also injured as they came to help, along with five police officers who all came into contact with the chemical.

Police believe the perpetrator had travelled around 250 miles from Newcastle earlier that day to carry out the attack on the woman, who was said to be known to him.

Distressing footage from the scene showed the 31-year-old mother and her eight-year-old daughter standing in front of the man’s car holding their hands to their faces around 7.25pm.

The suspect was then seen deliberately driving at the mother, hitting her before getting out of the car to haul a three-year-old girl out of the back seat. 

The disturbing footage shows a man running towards the driver's door and getting inside before driving the white car into a woman as members of the public rush to her aid

The disturbing footage shows a man running towards the driver’s door and getting inside before driving the white car into a woman as members of the public rush to her aid

This is the chilling moment a suspected acid attacker rams a car at a mother before taking a child out of a car and slamming her to the floor

This is the chilling moment a suspected acid attacker rams a car at a mother before taking a child out of a car and slamming her to the floor

CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline showed Ezedi stumbling as he ran away from the scene of the attack

CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline showed Ezedi stumbling as he ran away from the scene of the attack

CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline showed Ezedi stumbling as he ran away from the scene of the attack 

Children’s minister David Johnston was pressed by Sky News on reports the suspect in the alkaline substance attack in south London is a convicted sex offender who was granted asylum after two failed attempts.

Mr Johnston said: ‘I don’t have his case file and I can’t say anything that might affect the police’s investigation here.

‘He is still at large and what we really need is anyone with information to come forward in order that he can be apprehended, given he is police’s key suspect.

He described the attack as ‘horrific’ and sent his thoughts to the victims. He told Sky News: ‘What has been reported in this particular case will understandably concern I think every member of the public. Concerns me, concerns every member of the government.’ 

Asked whether it was a failure of the Government for someone to be granted permission to stay in the UK after being convicted of a crime, he said: ‘This is why this government’s so determined to end the asylum merry-go-round.’

Mr Johnston added that a ‘number of cases’ of people appealing and claiming asylum after having their application rejected. He added that the Rwanda Bill aims to stop this from happening. 

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said that he expects the Home Secretary to carry out a ‘detailed review’ of how Abdul Ezedi was granted asylum.

Mr Jenrick, who quit the Government last year after pushing for a tougher approach to the Rwanda plan, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the case raises ‘very serious concerns’.

He said: ‘It appears from what little we know of this case, that this is an individual whose asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK was granted by a tribunal, so probably by a judge rather than Home Office officials, despite the fact that he had been convicted of a sexual offence and on the basis of evidence which, we shall have to see, may well be spurious or insubstantial, such as this suggestion that he had converted to Christianity.

‘I think we need to investigate the particular circumstances.

‘We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, and I would expect the Home Secretary to conduct a detailed review of what has happened and what may have gone seriously wrong in this case, and to put that information in the public domain, such is the public interest.’

Forensics at the scene take picture of the location close to Clapham Common

Forensics at the scene take picture of the location close to Clapham Common

The three victims are among ten injured as eight were rushed to hospital after the horror incident in south London , police said

The three victims are among ten injured as eight were rushed to hospital after the horror incident in south London , police said

Rishi Sunak does not think ‘foreign criminals should be able to stay’ in the UK when asked about news that a sex offender hunted over a chemical attack was granted asylum to stay in the UK despite his conviction.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters: ‘First and foremost on the attack, obviously, it was a horrific attack and the PM’s thoughts are with the victims and their families.

‘And he’d like to extend his thanks to the emergency services for the very quick response to the scene and the five officers who were injured in the incident.’

The official declined to comment on the suspect’s immigration status during a live police investigation but said that, more broadly, ‘the PM doesn’t think that foreign criminals should be able to stay in the country, putting the public at risk’.

He pointed to action the Government is taking in the Nationality and Borders Act and Illegal Migration Act.

Terrified witnesses described the suspect throwing the child ‘like a ragdoll’ above his head before smashing her down on the ground.

One local said: ‘The man was throwing the little girl on the floor like he was in a wrestling ring.’

Another horrified witness said: ‘Like the Hulk, he lifted her and threw her on the floor, lifted her again and threw her on the floor again.’

Both the mother and her three-year-old suffered ‘life-changing injuries’.

The elder child, who was wearing her school uniform, is said to have suffered bruising and burn-like injuries. All three remain in hospital.

One witness described the mother’s horrific injuries: ‘Her lips were completely black. Her face looked really burnt, like stripped off basically.’

The Acid Survivors Trust International, an organisation that records information on chemical attacks across the world, said that the heinous attack being directed at the young mother and her two children was ‘unheard of’, as most are related to gang violence. 

Jaf Shah, chief executive of the trust, said: ‘The scale of attacks and the targeting of young children by a single perpetrator is unheard of. It’s important to highlight that this is not commonplace, this is very rare.’

Three women and a man in his 50s were also taken to hospital to be treated for minor burns injuries after rushing to help them, along were five police officers. All have since been discharged.

Photos show a white Hyundai i20 hatchback with its doors open and windscreen shattered abandoned on the street in Clapham, where homes sell for as much as £3million

Photos show a white Hyundai i20 hatchback with its doors open and windscreen shattered abandoned on the street in Clapham, where homes sell for as much as £3million 

Forensics were seen closely examining a silver thermal carry-cup, which was located next to a bin

Forensics were seen closely examining a silver thermal carry-cup, which was located next to a bin

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This post first appeared on Daily mail

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