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 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 at London’s Heathrow Airport, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police.
A three-year-old girl was among those injured when the spray was used by a group of robbers who attempted to steal a woman’s suitcase on Sunday, Dec. 7, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
Including the little girl, 21 people were treated at the scene by London ambulance paramedics, while five were hospitalized. Officials confirmed that one of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.
The police added that a 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault following the incident, while other accomplices were being searched for. They note that 4 men were involved in the attack, which took place in an elevator in Terminal Three’s parking lot.
Press Association via AP Images
The police reported in an initial statement 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.
British graduate student Tom Bate, 27, who had just flown in from Austin, Texas, told The Times that he 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, he added.
Press Association via AP Images
“The moment they left, one by one, everyone in the lobby started coughing in unison, including me,” Bate told The Times. “I felt this tingling, burning in the back of my throat. I thought maybe it was a chemical leak.”
He described the scene as “eerie” and “like a disaster movie” as police tried to establish what had happened.
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In his statement, 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.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Metropolitan Police for further updates, but did not immediately hear back.
