{"id":618482,"date":"2025-12-07T18:55:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T18:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618482\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T18:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T18:55:21","slug":"heathrow-incident-live-woman-robbed-of-suitcase-before-21-injured-in-pepper-spray-attack-at-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618482\/","title":{"rendered":"Heathrow incident live: Woman robbed of suitcase before 21 injured in \u2018pepper spray\u2019 attack at airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>In pictures: Man arrested at Heathrow after pepper spray attack<\/p>\n

At least 21 people were injured in a pepper spray attack at Heathrow Airport on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Fire engines and ambulances rushed to the incident, with one man arrested by police.<\/p>\n

\"ImagesImages show emergency services at Heathrow Airport after a pepper spray attack on Sunday (X\/Twitter: @_umarjaved)\"FireFire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene (X\/Twitter: @_umarjaved)\"AtAt least 21 people were injured (X\/Twitter: @_umarjaved)<\/p>\n

Maira Butt7 December 2025 18:36<\/p>\n

<\/a>Policing minister urges people to ‘follow police advice’<\/p>\n

Policing minister Sarah Jones has urged those affected by today\u2019s incident to \u201cfollow police advice\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a post on X she wrote: \u201cMy thoughts are with all those affected by the incident at Heathrow this morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy heartfelt thanks go to the emergency services for their rapid response \u2013 and the arrest made. I am being regularly updated on the investigation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose in the area should follow police advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 18:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Simon Calder: Closure of transport links triggered missed flights<\/p>\n

The Independent\u2019s travel correspondent Simon Calder is reporting that a number of people have missed flights after a \u201cpepper spray attack\u201d caused key transport links to close.<\/p>\n

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: \u201cIf any customers are delayed as a result of the disruption and are unable to make their flight, our teams can support with rebooking onto the next available service once they get in touch with us \u2013 either at the ticket desk or by calling in to our customer centre\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 18:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>‘I believed I was in a terror attack,’ witness says<\/p>\n

A passenger who landed at Heathrow Airport this morning and witnessed the attack has described the experience as \u201cterrifying\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tom Bate said he and others around him \u201csuddenly\u201d started coughing as he felt burning in his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was in a terrorist attack,\u201d he told Sky News. <\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 17:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Police issue appeal for information<\/p>\n

Police have issued an appeal for information and witnesses after 21 people needed medical attention following a \u201cpepper spray attack\u201d.<\/p>\n

Officers said they have arrested one man but are searching for a number of others believed to be involved.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101, quoting CAD 1803 7 DEC.<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 17:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Everything we know so far<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything we know after police descended on Heathrow Airport this morning:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Police were called to the Terminal 3 car park at 8.11am on Sunday morning following reports of a \u201cgroup of men\u201d attacking people with a \u201cform of pepper spray\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 It is understood that a woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men<\/p>\n

\u2022 One man aged 31 was arrested at the scene as officers launched a manhunt for other suspects<\/p>\n

\u2022 Paramedics cared for 21 people at the scene including a three-year-old girl, and transported five of those to hospital<\/p>\n

\u2022 Those affected are not believed to have life-threatening or life-changing injuries<\/p>\n

\u2022 Passengers at Heathrow Airport have faced severe disruption to transport links throughout Sunday, although all roads and rail lines are now open<\/p>\n

\u2022 The incident is not being treated as terror-related<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 16:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Police say woman was targeted in suitcase robbery<\/p>\n

In an update, the police said they believe a woman was robbed of her suitcase by four men.<\/p>\n

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault within nine minutes of the report coming in. He remains in custody and enquiries remain ongoing to locate further suspects.<\/p>\n

The London Ambulance Service treated 21 people with injuries, including a three-year-old girl who was treated at the scene. Five people were taken to hospital with non-life-changing or life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n

Commander Peter Stevens from the Met said: \u201cOur team have been working at pace today to review CCTV from the area and speak with witnesses at the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis occurred within a car park lift, with those in the lift and surrounding area affected by the spray.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate that this has been a concerning incident and I commend the actions of the emergency services and members of staff at Heathrow airport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 16:27<\/p>\n

<\/a>In pictures: Police swoop on Heathrow Airport after ‘pepper spray’ attack\"\"(Andrew Matthews\/PA)\"\"(Ellie Crab\/PA)\"AnAn emergency vehicle outside Heathrow Terminal 3 (Andrew Matthews\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 16:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Passengers waiting hours for taxis<\/p>\n

People stuck at Heathrow Airport have described waiting for two hours to get a taxi after this morning\u2019s incident.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Sky News, Aleksandra said it took her more than two hours to get a cab back to Windsor. <\/p>\n

She added: “The car park was quite chaotic at Terminal 2, with many people waiting for taxis. <\/p>\n

“My taxi driver wasn’t aware what was going on and was stuck in traffic for more than an hour on the slip road to Terminal 2.”<\/p>\n

Passengers also reported long delays and overcrowding on public transport links to Heathrow.<\/p>\n

\"ElizabethElizabeth line passengers queuing to exit Heathrow T2\/3 station (Zhanna Manukyan\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 15:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Five taken to hospital after 21 ‘cared for’<\/p>\n

Five people were rushed to hospital after this morning\u2019s attack, which police said involved a \u201cform of pepper spray\u201d.<\/p>\n

Paramedics initially cared for 21 at the scene, with five needing hospital treatment, London Ambulance Service said.<\/p>\n

They are not believed to have life-threatening or life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n

Nicole Wootton-Cane7 December 2025 15:00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In pictures: Man arrested at Heathrow after pepper spray attack At least 21 people were injured in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,12,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-618482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115679811639845817","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}