London: Several people were sprayed with a form of pepper spray at London’s Heathrow Airport on Sunday.
The attack took place in a multi-storeyed car park at Terminal 3, resulting in chaos and panic, and triggering a large emergency response.
Police have arrested one man on suspicion of carrying out the pepper-spray assault.
Police authorities and security officials confirmed that the incident is being treated as an isolated dispute, and not as an act of terrorism.
The incident resulted in transport disruption. There was temporary disruption to rail services serving the airport. Heathrow Express services and parts of the Elizabeth Line were suspended as emergency crews worked at the scene.
Train services resumed after a few hours, but National Rail reported delays.
The Metropolitan Police said armed officers reached the scene at around 8.11 GMT (1.41 pm IST) after reports of multiple people being attacked with a chemical spray.
One man was arrested at the location as police continued to search for additional suspects.
The victims were transported to hospital for attention and treatment. Police said none of the victims sustained life-changing or life-threatening injuries.
“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,” Commander Peter Stevens said.
“Our officers responded quickly and there will be an increased police presence at Heathrow airport throughout the morning to continue inquiries and ensure the safety of those in the area. We are not treating this incident as terrorism. I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning,” he added.
