NEED TO KNOW
- Five people have been hospitalized following a pepper spray attack at London’s Heathrow Airport on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7
- The incident took place in the elevator of the terminal 3 parking lot with 4 men believed to be involved in the robbery of a woman’s suitcase
- The Metropolitan Police confirmed, per BBC that a 31-year-old man was arrested at the scene and they were searching for other accomplices
Five people have been hospitalized following a pepper spray attack by robbers at London’s Heathrow Airport, according to multiple outlets, including the BBC, The Independent, and The Times.
A three-year-old girl was among those injured when the spray was used by robbers attempting to steal a woman’s suitcase on Sunday, Dec. 7, the Metropolitan Police confirmed, per BBC.
The Independent notes that, including the little girl, 21 people were treated at the scene by London ambulance paramedics while five were hospitalized. Per the outlet, none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.
The BBC reports that a 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault following the incident, while other accomplices were being searched for. The Times notes that 4 men were involved in the attack, which took place in an elevator in the terminal 3 parking lot.
Press Association via AP Images
The police added that the attack — which disrupted services at the airport as trains were delayed and the car park closed — was an isolated incident and wasn’t being treated as terrorism, per BBC.
A witness told The Times that the scene felt “like a disaster movie.”
27-year-old Tom Bate, a British graduate student who had just flown in from Austin, Texas, had been waiting for the elevator in the parking lot with about 40 or 50 people — including children and elderly people — when he noticed three young men wearing black with their faces covered. He watched the man “dart through the crowd” and run through a fire escape door.
Press Association via AP Images
Bate said, “The moment they left, one by one, everyone in the lobby started coughing in unison, including me. I felt this tingling, burning in the back of my throat. I thought maybe it was a chemical leak.”
He described the scene to The Times as “eerie” and “like a disaster movie” as police tried to establish what had happened.
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Metropolitan Police Commander Peter Stevens said: “Our team have been working at pace today to review CCTV from the area and speak with witnesses at the scene. At this stage, it’s understood that a woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men, who sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray in her direction,” as reported by The Times.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Metropolitan Police, but did not immediately hear back
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