Four Arrested After Acid Attack on Three-Year-Old Boy in England

Four men have been arrested in connection to an acid attack on a three-year-old boy in Worcester, England, on Saturday.

Three suspects, aged 22, 25, and 26 were detained in London on Monday — some 130 miles away from the cathedral city — on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, West Mercia Police confirmed.

A fourth man — aged 39 — from Wolverhampton arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm remains in custody.

The three-year-old was being pushed in a pushchair by his mother in the budget homeware store Home Bargains on Saturday at 2:15 pm when a corrosive substance was thrown at or sprayed in his face in what police described as a “deliberate attack”.

The mother was heard to scream: “My baby, my baby, what have they done to my baby?”

The toddler was treated in hospital after suffering serious burns to his face and arm, but has now been released. However, the long-term implications of his injuries are as yet unknown.

Chief Superintendent Mark Travis said: “At this time we are treating this as a deliberate attack on a three-year-old boy.”

He told Sky News: “It’s an awful incident and we’re really, really concerned about this.

“Worcester is a really, really safe place. It’s very unusual to have any form of attack like this.”

Police say that the motive for the attack is currently unknown. West Mercia Police released images of three men in their 20s (pictured) on Sunday in a public appeal, saying they had information “vital to our investigation” but it is unknown if those pictured are the suspects arrested at this stage.

Acid attacks have been on the rise in the UK in the past few years, with East London the worst affected.

Breitbart London reported in December 2017 that police revealed that Britain is one of the world’s worst countries for acid attacks, with more than 800 now recorded each year.