Authorities apprehended a 31-year-old man at a London airport on Sunday in connection with a brazen robbery that resulted in 21 individuals, including a toddler, being pepper-sprayed and subsequently needing medical attention, according to officials.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the unsettling event unfolded in the morning hours at Heathrow Airport’s parking garage. A quartet of men targeted a woman, stealing her suitcase while trapped in an elevator. During the heist, the assailants released a substance believed to be pepper spray, affecting the woman as well as others in the vicinity.
Commander Peter Stevens stated, “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,” noting that the irritant also impacted other passengers in the elevator and surrounding areas.
Following the attack, the suspects swiftly exited the elevator. According to a witness account reported by The Associated Press, the group appeared to consist of three young men clad entirely in black, with their heads concealed.
A dramatic video showed armed police officers rapidly converging on the scene of the incident, their presence unmistakable as they maneuvered through the airport’s multi-level parking structure, carrying substantial firearms.
Video captured a swarm of officers rushing to the scene of the assault, visibly carrying large firearms as they navigated the multi-story parking garage.
Authorities said the victim and the suspects knew each other, and investigators are not treating the case as a terrorism-related incident.
“At this stage, we believe the incident involved a group of people known to each other, with an argument escalating and resulting in a number of people being injured,” Stevens said.
An emergency vehicle outside Heathrow Terminal 3. (Andrew Matthews/PA Images)
“We are not treating this incident as terrorism,” he added. “I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning.”
Officials said the 31-year-old is being held on suspicion of assault, and that authorities are searching for the other suspects who escaped.
Police officers look down from an upper level of a Heathrow Airport parking garage while searching for suspects in a pepper-spray assault. (Tom Bate/Reuters)
Ambulance crews treated victims at the scene and transported five to the hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to the authorities.
The incident led to hours of travel delays for passengers arriving at and departing from the airport, the AP reported, but operations have since returned to normal, according to the airport in a post on X.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Metropolitan Police and Heathrow Airport for more information.
