Two teenagers were hospitalized after being sprayed with a “substance” believed to be acid outside a west London school, an attack which also injured a member of staff, police said on Tuesday .
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. The police were alerted by an employee of this middle school reporting that a “substance” had been thrown “on students and a member of staff”.
A 14-year-old girl suffered “potentially irreversible” injuries and remains hospitalized, as does a 16-year-old boy, whose injuries are less serious. The third victim, a 27-year-old woman, has left the hospital.
“Tests are underway” to determine the substance used, but “at this stage investigators believe it is acid,” the police said, adding that they were looking for those responsible.
According to the school’s director, Numera Anwar, the incident occurred outside “after school time when students and staff leave the building.”
One of the victims is a student, another a teacher and the third has no direct connection with the school, she said, without elaborating.
Two police officers were also taken “preventatively” to hospital, after reporting that they were not feeling well.
On its website, the Westminster Academy, a private establishment but financed by public funds, indicates that it is closed on Tuesday.
“This is a difficult time for our community,” said the director, while local council president Adam Hug spoke of a “deeply shocking attack”.
According to official figures, 710 attacks using corrosive substances were recorded in 2022 in England and Wales. They reached a peak in 2017 (949), leading the authorities to strengthen controls on the sale and possession of these substances.
The organization Acid Survivors Trust International, which combats acid attacks, points to an increase in cases targeting women.
In February, a woman and her two daughters were sprayed with a “corrosive substance” in south London. The alleged assailant fled and his body was found several days later in the Thames.
