Amidst a nationwide manhunt, three of the UK’s largest police forces are relentlessly pursuing Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, the Afghan suspect responsible for the harrowing alkali attack on a mother and two young girls in south London.
February 2, 2024
The fugitive Afghan sex offender, suspected of perpetrating a heinous alkaline attack on a mother and her two children, was last spotted boarding a London Tube, leaving behind a trail of potentially life-changing injuries.
Abdul Shokoor Ezedi’s distinctive appearance, marked by severe burn scars, was captured by Tesco CCTV, while a total of 12 victims required hospital treatment following the ‘targeted’ attack in Clapham’s Lessar Avenue.
As Scotland Yard releases new images of Ezedi at King’s Cross station, the nationwide manhunt intensifies, with overnight police raids yielding ‘significant and important’ evidence at five different locations, two in the capital and three in Newcastle.
London, February 1, 2024 – The city was left in shock and horror as a corrosive chemical attack in Clapham, South London, severely injured a 31-year-old mother and her two daughters, aged 8 and 3. The suspect behind this heinous crime, Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, a 35-year-old Afghan refugee who had previously been convicted of “sexual assault/exposure” in 2018, is currently on the run. Ezedi had been denied the right to stay in the UK twice before being granted asylum, and authorities have launched a widespread manhunt to apprehend him.
The Attack
The attack occurred at approximately 7:25 pm on Wednesday outside the Clapham South Belvedere Hotel, known for housing homeless people and asylum seekers. Eyewitnesses reported that Ezedi, who was acquainted with the victims, sprayed the family with an alkaline chemical, causing potentially life-changing injuries to the mother and her three-year-old daughter.
Detectives are searching for Abdul Shakoor Ezedi in connection with an attack using a corrosive substance in south London, which left a mother & her two daughters in hospital.
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 2, 2024
The Met Police are urging anyone with information on Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, 35, a suspected sex offender… pic.twitter.com/qllDUlG7y6
According to a witness who spoke to The Sun, the mother and her children had been in a car with a man. The pair exited the vehicle and began fighting on the street.
The man then allegedly returned to the car and attempted to run the woman over. The witness said, “There was a little baby girl banging on the door on the dad’s side, and the lady was crying, screaming ‘my eyes, police.'”
“He opened the door, took out the baby and banged her against the ground twice”.
Another witness told the BBC that the mother cried, “I can’t see, I can’t see,” as he tried to help her. “It was quite horrific,” he added.
Three courageous women rushed to the victim’s aid, but Ezedi allegedly picked up one of the children, held her above his head, and violently slammed her onto the ground twice.
“He opened the door, took out the baby, and banged her against the ground twice.”
Another witness told the BBC that the mother cried, “I can’t see, I can’t see,” as he tried to help her. “It was quite horrific,” he added.
Three courageous women rushed to the victim’s aid, but Ezedi allegedly picked up one of the children, held her above his head, and violently slammed her onto the ground twice.
After the attack, Ezedi attempted to flee in a white Hyundai but crashed into a stationary vehicle. He then fled on foot towards Clapham Common before being spotted in North London. In total, 12 people needed hospital treatment after the “targeted” attack on Lessar Avenue, Clapham, south London.
A new photograph of Ezedi was released by Scotland Yard, showing his severely disfigured face, believed to be a result of the chemical used in the attack.
Abdul Ezedi’s Background
Abdul Ezedi’s background has raised questions about his presence in the UK. Despite being a convicted sex offender, he was granted asylum after claiming to have converted to Christianity, with a priest vouching for his commitment to the religion. The Home Office is now facing scrutiny over why Ezedi was allowed to remain in the country.
Furthermore, the UK’s current policy on asylum seekers states that they can claim asylum based on their conversion to a new religion if they can prove that they will face persecution in their country of origin as a result of their new faith. Many Islamic refugees misuse this policy and falsely claim that they have converted to Christianity in order to remain in the country.
Previous Terror Incident
In November 2021, the UK experienced a terror attack by an asylum seeker when Emad Al Swealmeen detonated an explosive device at the entrance of Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Notably, Al Swealmeen had been confirmed by Rt Revd Cyril Ashton at Liverpool Cathedral in 2017.
Support from Migration Charity
Ezedi had been residing in Newcastle, where he was housed by the left-wing migration charity Action Foundation. The organization, which believes “There is no such thing as an illegal human being,” provides accommodation, support, and “integration” help, such as English lessons, to refugees who have been granted leave to remain in the UK. Duncan McAuley, the CEO of Action Foundation, expressed sympathy for the victims and confirmed that Ezedi had been supported through their program between April 29, 2021, and March 2, 2022.
In 2022, McAuley led a relay team in swimming the English Channel to raise awareness of the challenges refugees face. Some are now questioning whether the CEO will also raise awareness for citizens who are facing difficulties due to the mass influx of illegal so-called “refugees.”
Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, leading the investigation, confirmed that the substance used in the attack was alkaline, a readily available chemical. The police have expanded their manhunt, collaborating with British Transport Police and Northumbria Constabulary, and remain confident that they will apprehend Ezedi.
The victims, including the mother and her three-year-old daughter with potentially life-changing injuries, along with her eight-year-old daughter, are receiving treatment in the hospital. Some of the burns they suffered were described as “quite substantial” by Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley.
Asylum Policy Controversy
It was revealed that Ezedi arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016, having traveled from Afghanistan. He was convicted of “sexual assault/exposure” in 2018 at Newcastle Crown Court. His sentence included an unpaid work order completed in 2020, leading to his discharge from probation supervision.
Ezedi’s asylum application had been rejected twice before it was granted on the third attempt when he claimed to have converted to Christianity. This case has raised concerns within the Home Office about individuals being granted asylum despite prior convictions in the UK. Tory MPs have called for the deportation of all asylum seekers who commit crimes in Great Britain. Meanwhile, left-wing activists, who appear to have little regard for the safety of British citizens, argue that these criminals may still be at risk in their home countries, thereby qualifying them as genuine refugees even if they have a conviction in the UK.
Rising Incidents of Acid Attacks
With the significant increase in migrants in the United Kingdom, especially Islamic migrants, acid and corrosive substance attacks have been on the rise for some time, leading to London being referred to as the “acid attack hotspot of the Western world.”
A Freedom of Information request stated that the MET police recorded 107 such attacks in 2022, up from 74 in 2021. London reported 163 acid attacks in 2022.
The data, released by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), found that in England and Wales, the attacks rose by 69% in the same time frame. The charity warned that the real figure is likely to be “far higher” as a number of “key police forces” did not respond to their data requests.
London had the second-highest number of recorded attacks in England and Wales in 2022 after Northumbria, ASTI reported.
Silence from the Left!
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) January 21, 2019
UK Jihadi gang sentenced for their horrific acid attack on Gay men!
Shocking footage shows the moment the terrorists spray the men with acid in a mass brawl outside a nightclub.
Sentences ranged from only 18 months to 17years.https://t.co/DqTRP9LP8I pic.twitter.com/s7XPgVvWeu
London – the new Acid Attack Capital!
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) August 23, 2019
This attacked happened in London’s Hackney Downs, and came just hours after cops scrambled to another acid attack in nearby Walthamstow.
Multicultural Britain has one of the highest rates of acid attacks per capita in the world. #Enriched pic.twitter.com/FvdSenVTbL
Law Enforcement Challenges
Superintendent Gabriel Cameron mentioned in a news conference that he had “no idea” what Ezedi’s motivation may have been and that the police were not yet clear on the exact relationship between Ezedi and the victims.
The investigation into this appalling attack is ongoing, with the Metropolitan Police urging the public not to approach Abdul Ezedi but to provide any information that could assist in his capture.
Police have urged anyone who saw what happened to call 101, quoting reference CAD 7790/31Jan, and asked local residents and drivers to check their doorbell and dash cameras for footage that might have captured Ezedi fleeing the area.
The last confirmed sighting of Abdul Ezedi was in Tesco on Caledonian Road, N1 at 8.48pm last night.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) February 1, 2024
If you see Ezedi, call 999 immediately. He should NOT be approached.
If you have information as to his whereabouts call 0207 175 2784https://t.co/qQq1MXYXes
Motivation
Motivation Acid Survivors Trust, a charity based in London, describes motivation as follows: “Victims of acid violence [corrosive substance] are attacked for many reasons, and the patterns of attack vary from country to country. Sometimes, they result from domestic or land disputes, dowry demands, or revenge. In many cases, they are a form of gender-based violence, perhaps because a young girl or woman spurned sexual advances or rejected a marriage proposal.”
Although the majority of attacks are directed at women and children, men are attacked in large numbers as well.
Acid attacks [corrosive substance], as they are doubtless intended to do, inflict suffering on victims: destroying lives, ruining families, causing both physical and psychological harm, disfiguring, reducing men and women to lives of isolation and loneliness, creating poverty, and marking sufferers out for social ostracism.
Government’s Asylum Policies
In the wake of this shocking attack, it serves as yet another glaring failure of the government’s asylum policies, which prioritize the welfare of individuals with questionable backgrounds and criminal records over the safety of its citizens. This unfortunate event underscores the pressing need for a thorough reevaluation of such policies to ensure that the security and well-being of the nation’s residents take precedence.
News Link: https://rairfoundation.com/manhunt-london-after-convicted-afghan-sex-offender-granted/
