Haos at Heathrow: armed police search for culprits after pepper spray attack in car park
Passengers traveling to Heathrow Airport this morning faced major disruption, with trains suspended in both directions and armed police going from car to car.
’Multiple people’ were assaulted in a multistorey car park, with police saying they were ’sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then left the scene’.
A man was arrested following the incident at 8:11 am, which is not thought to be terror-related.
A passenger waiting in a car had earlier shared footage of armed police searching vehicles, writing: "Just had someone walked past me in cuffs… not a good sign."
Fin Fraser posted on X: ’Who knows what’s happening at Heathrow T3, stuck here for nearly an hour and armed police searching every car about.’
Dr. Paula Byrne, an author and Jane Austen biographer, shared a video sent to her of armed police searching up and down a multistorey car park on X, captioned: ’My son gassed at London Heathrow’.
In replies, she added she was not sure what was happening ’but my son saw it unfold, three young men, everyone coughing, armed police everywhere.’
The Heathrow Express rail service was suspended in both directions, while part of the Elizabeth Line connecting to the airport was also suspended, although services have now resumed.
Commander Peter Stevens of the Met Police said: ’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.
’Our officers responded quickly and there will be an increased police presence at Heathrow Airport throughout the morning, to continue enquiries 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.’
The man arrested is in custody, and police are still trying to trace further suspects.
Victims were taken to the hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.
A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport told Metro: ’Our teams are responding to an incident with the emergency services in the multi-storey car park in Terminal 3. We will provide updates shortly.’
The Heathrow Express website had earlier warned of ’major disruption’, saying there were ’no services in either direction due to a problem currently under investigation’.
Transport for London earlier said there were ’No services between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Terminals while the police respond to an incident.’
Meanwhile, road links to the UK’s biggest airport were also disrupted.
National Highways posted on X this morning: ’A serious incident within the @HeathrowAirport Tunnel has resulted in the closure of the #M4 spur road southbound between M4 and J4A.’
They said the incident had now been resolved, and the road has reopened.
Heathrow’s flight status page does not show major delays to departures.
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