A woman who witnessed the Clapham attack says she feared the three-year-old victim was ‘going to die in her arms’ after being ‘slammed to the ground’ during the horrific incident.
The woman – who wants to remain anonymous – recalled taking the girl to hospital after the attack. The girl, her eight-year-old sister and mum, 31, were attacked with a corrosive substance on Wednesday.
A nationwide manhunt was launched for suspect Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35. He has not yet been apprehended.
Police believe the woman has suffered life-changing injuries, but her daughter’s injuries are not “as serious as first thought”.
The witness told the BBC she saw Ezedi drag the younger girl from the car and slam her into the ground twice, before running from the scene.
She said: “I heard a bit of shouting and I could hear it louder. So I ran outside. But I was just in shock. I first thought there had been a car crash or something.
“The suspect slammed what I thought was a car seat or a bag to the floor after jumping from a white car.
“The sound, the thud, the scream, that’s when I realised it was a little girl being slammed to the ground, like a WWF wrestling move.”
The woman said two men attempted to jump the attacker and pin him down, but he managed to escape the scene.
She said she then decided to take the younger girl and rush to the nearby hospital, where the mother was “hysterical”.
The witness said she was just about to settle down and watch the TV as the incident unfolded. After rushing to aid the youngster, she attempted to reassure her despite the child’s head being “red and swollen”.
She says it appeared as though the attacker was attempted to “crack her head open”. The witness says she put the child into the recovery position immediately after the attack.
She continued: “But before I did, she just went limp. I thought the youngest of the two girls was about to die in my arms. Luckily the three-year-old woke up and started to call for her mum.”
The woman then says she took the child to the ambulance, although found herself having to escort the reluctant youngster the entire way there.
Later in the evening, the woman realised she too had been hit with the chemical. It is believed a total of 12 people suffered an injury during the incident on Wednesday.
The woman described the splash mark as being like “black paint” on her foot. She added: “I went to shower it off but it wouldn’t come off. Then I started to get a burning sensation.”
She says she returned to the hospital and waited seven and a half hours for treatment. Her foot has been left “black and swollen”.
The woman has now been “left traumatised” by the incident and wanted support after hearing the victims’ screams.
The Metropolitan Police said the last confirmed sighting of the suspect was at 9.33pm on Wednesday. He was leaving Tower Hill Underground station.
He arrived at Victoria using the Victoria line at 9.10pm before taking an eastbound District line train to Tower Hill at 9.16pm.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Met Police on 020 7175 2784 or for an immediate sighting dial 999.
