A pepper spray attack at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 car park has left 21 people requiring treatment, including a three-year-old girl, after a woman was robbed of her suitcase on Sunday morning. Police arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of assault and confirmed the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
The Metropolitan Police received calls at 8:11am reporting that a group of four men had sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray during the robbery inside a car park lift. Those in the lift and surrounding area were affected by the spray, suffering symptoms including coughing and burning throats.
London Ambulance Service treated 21 patients at the scene, with five transported to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The service stood down from the scene at 10:58am after responding to the incident at 8:04am.
Police Investigation
Commander Peter Stevens said: «Our team have been working at pace today to review CCTV from the area and speak with witnesses at the scene. At this stage, it's understood that a woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men, who sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray in her direction.»
He added: «Our officers are working to determine the full circumstances around what happened but we do believe this to be an isolated incident with those directly involved known to each other.»
Police are hunting for the other three suspects who fled the scene. Armed officers maintained an increased presence at the airport throughout the morning to continue inquiries and ensure public safety.
Witness Accounts
Tom Bate, who told the BBC he witnessed the incident, described seeing «young men dressed in black darting through the crowd». He said: «As soon as they left people started coughing, and then I started to cough. I felt a burning at the back of my throat.»
Bate praised the police response, saying: «It was an amazing thing to see the police running to danger.» He added: «I'm so glad to hear now that it's not terrorism because it felt like I was in the middle of an attack - it was pretty intense.»
Another witness, Fin Fraser, told the BBC about encountering «armed police running around and checking people's vehicles» as he exited the car park. He described the experience as «surreal», saying: «It felt like I was in a James Bond movie.»
Travel Disruption
The incident caused significant operational disruptions at the major international airport. One family reported waiting three hours for a shuttle bus to the long-stay car park, despite services usually running every 15 minutes.
A Heathrow spokesman said: «The shuttle buses to the long-stay car park were impacted by congestion on the roads following an earlier incident which saw the Central Terminal Area tunnel closed for safety reasons. The buses are now operating as normal and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.»
The airport advised passengers to allow extra time when traveling and to check with airlines for flight updates. Staff distributed bottled water to passengers waiting at Terminal 3.
Rail services including the Heathrow Express and parts of the Elizabeth Line experienced temporary suspensions during the incident. Long queues and overcrowding were reported at Heathrow Terminal 2/3 rail station.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said: «My thoughts are with all those affected by the incident at Heathrow this morning. My heartfelt thanks go to the emergency services for their rapid response – and the arrest made.»
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them on 101, quoting reference CAD 1803 7 DEC.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
