A second ‘acid’ attack in just two days in south London is being probed.
The latest shocking incident involved a sports shop manager being sprayed with a substance when he tried to apprehend a suspected shoplifter, according to witnesses.
The attack happened in front of horrified passers-by in broad daylight outside the JD Sports store on Streatham High Road.
Fire engines, ambulances and police cars raced to the scene yesterday afternoon and detectives were seen with evidence bags.
Police say the victim, in his 40s, was taken to hospital but did not need further treatment.
The previous day a teenage girl and a woman in her 60s were sprayed with a noxious substance two miles away in Thornton Heath.
It is not known if the incidents are linked.
Police are appealing for witnesses to both attacks.
A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: “Police were called at around 2.35pm on Tuesday to reports of a man assaulted after being squirted with a noxious substance in Streatham High Road.
“Officers and paramedics attended the scene and a man, aged in his 40s, received treatment before being taken to a south London hospital as a precaution.
“He did not suffer any injuries as a result of the incident.”
She added: “Enquiries continue to confirm the nature of the liquid used.
“No arrests have been made.”
She said the incident the previous day (MON) happened just before 11.45am on County Road at the junction with Norbury Avenue in Thornton Heath.
The spokeswoman said: “Two female victims – one aged in her 60s and another in her mid-teens – were found suffering facial injuries.
“They were both taken to a south London hospital for treatment to their injuries. They have since been discharged.
“Detectives from the South Area Command Unit based in Bromley are investigating.
“They would like to speak with anyone who was in the area at the time of the assaults, or who may have captured the suspects on dash cam.
“There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.”
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