A three-year-old boy is under police protection after being “deliberately targeted” in a suspected acid attack at a shop in Worcester.
Four men aged between 22 and 39 have been arrested over the incident on Saturday afternoon that left the boy with burns to his face and arm.
West Mercia police made it clear they did not believe it was linked to a march by the far-right English Defence League (EDL) that was taking place at the same time to protest about a proposed new mosque in the city.
Nor does the force believe the incident was racially motivated or connected to gang violence.
At a press conference on Monday, Ch Supt Mark Travis said detectives were keeping an open mind and that the motivation could be complex. Asked in general terms about acid attacks, he said: “This is not the way to resolve issues or disputes in the community.”
The boy was left with burns after the incident at Home Bargains in the Tallow Hill area of Worcester. He has been discharged from hospital but the long-term implications of his injuries are unknown, police have said.
A 39-year-old man from Wolverhampton was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. Police issued stills from CCTV footage of others they wanted to speak to, and on Monday morning they revealed that three more men, aged 22, 25 and 26, had been detained in Walthamstow, east London, also on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
The London arrests took place in a ground-floor flat in a modern apartment building. Police have refused to release information on the nationalities or ethnicities of those involved.
The toddler was in a pushchair when a corrosive substance was thrown or sprayed over him, according to police. The substance has yet to be identified. The alleged attack was captured on CCTV.
A paramedic who treated the boy said the liquid was a pungent pink chemical. Nick Carson of the West Midlands ambulance service told the BBC: “It’s horrific, absolutely horrific. We had no inkling or reason to suspect that it was an acid attack, we just thought that maybe he’d come into contact with some sort of chemical.
“But to find out that afterwards that that was the case, it’s shocking. The fluid that I saw was pink in colour. It had quite a strong smell, no bleach or acidy type smell but it was an astringent kind of smell. It just smelt like a chemical really.”
Travis said: “We have looked at the movement of people in the footage throughout the area and consider this to be a deliberate act against the little boy. The substance that was used is an acid or an alkali substance which caused the boy a degree of discomfort. We are finding out the nature of the substance as part of the investigation.
“This has been a shocking incident which we know has caused a great deal of concern in our community. I can reassure people that Worcester remains a safe place to live and work and that such crimes remain thankfully extremely rare in our area.
“There is nothing to suggest that this incident is in any way motivated by race or anything to do with the EDL protest that took place in Worcester this weekend. I think it’s a natural question people would ask but we’re really, really confident that they’re not connected.”
Travis said it was a priority to ensure that the boy and anyone else that might be in danger were protected. Specially trained officers are with the boy’s family and plan to speak with him directly.
“The family are coming to terms with something that is quite shocking,” he said. “It’s a difficult time for them and we need to make sure that while we work through the investigation they are safe and secure and are allowed to deal with the issues that they are facing.”
Travis would not say if the alleged attackers were known to the boy or family. “We are working through a series of hypotheses,” he said.
The leader of Worcester city council, Marc Bayliss, described the attack as “absolutely pure evil”. The MP for Worcester, Robin Walker, said it was horrific and that the “shock would be universal”.
Anyone with information that could help police with their enquiries should call 101 quoting incident 442s of 21 July 2018. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.