Three young men were attacked with acid outside of a gay nightclub in London early Sunday morning.
A witness said that the attack occurred at around 5 a.m. outside of Dalton Superstore, a popular LGBTQ venue. The witness, who doesn’t want to be named, said that he heard a commotion outside his window and caught part of the attack on three men, ages 17, 22, and 27.
The witness said he saw a car stop in the middle of the road and two men “jumped out and started beating people.”
“They were punching at people walking either side of the road. One man was being kicked as he lay on the floor,” the witness said. “The people were terrified, they weren’t fighting back.”
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He then saw the men get clear plastic bottles from the car and spray people with a “noxious substance.”
“My first thought was ‘why are they squirting water’ but then I realized it was acid,” the witness said.
The witness said that one of the men then threw a glass bottle on the ground. “The bottle smashed and people were screaming that they could smell acid. There was glass all over.”
The men drove off before police could get to the scene.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that the incident is being investigated, and that it left the victims with “lasting injuries.”
“This is a particularly vicious and unpleasant incident which has left a number of people with potentially lasting injuries,” said Sergeant Quinn Cutler.
“I know that a number of people witnessed this incident and I urge those people to come forward and share their information and/or footage with police.”
Dalston Superstore released a statement saying that the men were not customers of the nightclub but were instead just walking on the street.
“The three men had not visited our venue, and the attack happened long after we had closed. There is no indication that this senseless and brutal attack was motivated by homophobia,” the statement said.
Yesterday, three men in a different part of London were attacked with a “noxious substance” and police are saying that they suffered “life changing” injuries.
Scotland Yard has said that the attack is not being investigated as a hate crime. No arrests have been made.
