Abdul Shokoor Ezedi: What do we know of Clapham attack suspect?

Image source, Metropolitan Police

Image caption, Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35, was last seen in Caledonian Road, north London

By Harrison Jones

BBC News

As the manhunt for Abdul Shokoor Ezedi continues, what do we know about the suspect in the alkali attack in Clapham, south London?

The convicted sex offender, thought to be from Afghanistan, has been described by police as a “dangerous individual”.

He is understood to have arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016 and was granted asylum in 2020 after three attempts.

Ezedi is believed to have been living in Newcastle, where in 2018 he had been convicted of one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure.

Now 35, he received a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for the sexual assault and, for the exposure, 36 weeks’ imprisonment to be served consecutively, also suspended for two years.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

Image caption, New CCTV images released on Friday show Ezedi at King’s Cross Station

The sentence for the sexual offence included an unpaid work order.

Once that was complete in 2020, Ezedi was discharged from probation supervision.

Locals have told the BBC that he had been working in a pizza shop near Newcastle.

Yaya, the owner of Sultan Supermarket in Byker, Newcastle, said that he last saw Ezedi in his shop on Tuesday.

“He seemed normal and relaxed and in general was always respectful and polite. He worked six or seven days in a pizza shop behind the counter,” Yaya explained.

“I was shocked. He was working hard.”

Little is known about Ezedi’s life before his arrival in the UK in 2016.

Later that year, he first applied for asylum and was refused.

His claim was refused a second time at an unknown date. In this application, he said he had converted to Christianity, meaning he would have been at risk if he returned to Afghanistan.

Ezedi appealed against this Home Office decision and a tribunal overturned it in 2020, having heard from a church witness who said he believed that Ezedi had converted to Christianity.

Media caption, Watch: “Abdul, you need some medical help, hand yourself in” – police issue personal appeal

In an update after Wednesday’s attack, police said they believed Ezedi had travelled down to London from Newcastle.

On Friday, Cdr Jon Savell added that the suspect had left Newcastle in the “very, very early hours” of Wednesday morning and he or his vehicle were later seen in the Tooting, Croydon and Streatham areas of London, before getting to Clapham.

Metropolitan Police detectives think he is known to the family injured by the corrosive substance on Lessar Avenue, Clapham, but said they were not yet clear on their exact relationship.

Media caption, Watch: The manhunt to catch suspect on run after dousing woman and her two daughters with chemical

On Thursday afternoon, police released an image showing the suspect with what they described as “significant” and “distinctive” injuries around the right side of his face.

He had attempted to escape the scene in a Hyundai car but crashed into a stationary vehicle, before continuing his escape on foot.

Police say Ezedi boarded a train at Clapham South tube station at 19:33, and by 20:00 he was at King’s Cross station.

He was seen in north London a little after 20:45 on Wednesday evening, with a picture showing him in a Tesco Express shop on Caledonian Road, the Met said.

Cdr Savell explained on Friday that Ezedi was also seen taking a Victoria Line tube heading south at 21:00.

The public have been urged not to approach Ezedi and to instead call 999.

Image source, Met Police

Image caption, Ezedi was pictured with a bottle of water and “significant” injuries to the right side of his face