UK police hunt suspect in ‘corrosive substance’ attack that injured 9

Police inspect the scene of an incident near Clapham Common, south London, after a suspected corrosive substance was thrown at a woman and her two young children Wednesday Jan. 31, 2024. British police said Wednesday they are hunting for a suspect after several people were injured with a corrosive substance in London.(James Weech/PA via AP)

LONDON — British police said Wednesday they are hunting for a suspect after several people were injured with a corrosive substance in London.

The Metropolitan Police force said nine people were hurt after a man threw the substance at a woman and two children in the Clapham area.

Detective Superintendent Alexander Castle called it a “horrific incident.”

Police said nine people had been taken to hospitals: the woman and two children; three adults who came to their assistance; and three police officers. Castle said the officers’ injuries were believed to be minor. There was no immediate word on the condition of the others.

READ: Man attacks UK migrant processing center, kills himself

Castle said tests were underway to determine what had caused the injuries but “at this stage we believe it to be a corrosive substance.”

He said police were searching for a man who was seen fleeing the scene.