London (CNN) UK police have arrested three more men in connection with a suspected acid attack on a three-year-old boy in the city of Worcester.
The suspects, aged 22, 25 and 26, were detained in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, West Mercia Police said.
The toddler suffered serious burns to his face and an arm as he sat in a pushchair in the Home Bargains store in Tallow Hill mall on Saturday afternoon.
A 39-year-old man was arrested in another English city, Wolverhampton, on Sunday, police said.
The child was treated in hospital before being released Sunday afternoon. Police said the long-term implications of his injuries were unknown as of Monday morning.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Community shock in Worcester over 'acid' attack on boy
Three men have been arrested after a three-year-old was seriously injured in a suspected acid attack.
The boy was in a pushchair when he was "deliberately attacked" at Home Bargains in Worcester at 14:15 BST on Saturday.
West Mercia Police said the men, aged 22, 25 and 26, were arrested in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
Doctors discharged the boy from hospital on Sunday afternoon.
He was treated for serious burns to his arm and face and the "long-term implications" of the his injuries are unknown, the force said.
Ch Supt Mark Travis said the motive for the attack is so far "unclear".
Image copyright SWNS Image caption Four people have been arrested in total and police have appealed for witnesses
The three arrested men were detained at an address in Walthamstow, the Metropolitan Police said.
A 39-year-old man from Wolverhampton arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm remains in police custody.
"Acid or a corrosive substance" was either "thrown at or sprayed towards" the boy when he was with his family at Shrub Hill Retail Park, in Tallow Hill, police said.
Ch Supt Travis said the family is receiving specialist medical and police support.
"We are hoping the injuries won't be life changing. They are serious and at the moment it's just that little bit too soon to say, but things look positive.
"Everything that can be done to provide support is being done, support for the family has been great.
"I absolutely understand the community will be concerned, these are life changing incidents, this is something that lasts forever and we need to send a message that this is unacceptable."
He said the force was keeping "an open mind as to the circumstances of the incident" and was still "appealing for anyone with information to come forward".
Police denied any link between the attack and a protest by The English Defence League which took place in the centre of Worcester on Saturday, against plans to build a mosque in the city.
Ch Supt Travis said: "We have looked at all the possible links and at the moment there is nothing to suggest there is any link between the activity on Saturday with the protests and this particular incident."
Image caption Bev Sidhu said the experience was "unnerving"
Bev Sidhu, who was in the area at the time, said: "The supervisor from Home Bargains came and said, 'Look, there was a hazardous acid used on someone'.
"But that's all they let us know until the next day, but obviously it was just unnerving really, because it was just confusion."
A Home Bargains spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with this young child and his family at this very difficult time."
West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed it was called to the scene and liaised with the Hazardous Area Response Team for specialist advice.
They treated the boy at the shop before he was taken to hospital.
Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, described the attack as "horrific".
"The shock will be universal. Anyone conducting such an attack on a small child is just appalling," he said.
A three-year-old boy is under police protection after being deliberately targeted in a suspected acid attack at a store in Worcester.
Four men aged between 22 and 39 have been arrested over the attack on Saturday afternoon that left the boy with burns to his face and arm.
West Mercia police made it clear they did not believe the attack 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 attack 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 for the attack 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 suffered burns in 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 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 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 but the alleged attack was captured on CCTV.
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. The force is refusing to release information on the nationalities or ethnicities of those involved. Specially trained officers are with the boy’s family, and speaking with him directly will be one line of inquiry.
“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.
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.
Three-year-old boy seriously injured in suspected UK acid attack
Updated
A 3-year-old boy has suffered severe burns on his face and arm during a suspected acid attack in England that investigators think was deliberate.
Key points: A 39-year-old has been arrested over the incident
Police are treating the incident as "deliberate"
The child has been discharged from hospital
West Mercia police Chief Superintendent Mark Travis said police were working to identify the substance that burned the child on Saturday at a discount store in Worcester.
A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Three others were being sought for questioning and police released photos to generate public tips.
"At this time we are treating this as a deliberate attack," Superintendent Travis said in a statement.
"The incident will rightly shock the local community, and I would like to reassure local people that we are carrying out a thorough investigation."
British police have reported seeing an increase in acid attacks during the past year, but it is very rare for a victim to be so young. Some attacks are related to gang fights or late-night bar confrontations.
Most of the attacks have happened in London, but they have been reported in many parts of Britain.
A London teenager was given a prison sentence of more than 10 years this year after being convicted of spraying acid into the faces of moped drivers so he could steal their mopeds.
Police also report that innocuous liquids sometimes are thrown into the face of mugging targets to make them think they have been hit with a corrosive substance, panic and give up their valuables more easily.
Robin Walker, the Worcester representative in Parliament, said politicians were considering allowing tougher sentences for people convicted of any type of intentional assault with acid.
He described what happened to the 3-year-old boy as "horrific".
The child attacked on Saturday has been discharged from hospital. He has not been identified.
AP
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, united-kingdom
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