London, Feb 9 (PTI) Scotland Yard detectives leading the manhunt for wanted chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi said on Friday they believe he went into the River Thames at Chelsea Bridge.
The Metropolitan Police said meticulous work to examine CCTV footage continued overnight. The last confirmed sighting of Ezedi was crossing over Chelsea Bridge shortly before 23:30hrs on Wednesday January 31, the night of the attack in Clapham which left a mother and her two children badly injured.
CCTV footage shows Ezedi disappearing from view. The Met Police’s specialist team have spent the last 24 hours obtaining more footage of the area, including from passing buses, to confirm as far as possible what has happened.
Commander Jon Savell said: “Our enquiries continue but we have been very closely following all the available evidence for the past week and indications are now that Ezedi entered the water.
“We have tracked him since the moment the attack happened walking for four hours through London, in the main hugging the river. He is a man who had just carried out the most horrific attack, and was suffering from significant injuries himself which must have been causing him an extraordinary amount of pain.” The Met commander noted that It is just over four miles from Tower Hill, where the suspext was seen leaving the tube station, to Chelsea Bridge.
“He walks purposefully. Halfway across Chelsea Bridge he pauses and paces back and forth towards the railings, as well as looking over them, this is a change in behaviour. Then he is lost from sight. We have been closely liaising with a variety of experts through the National Crime Agency throughout the course of this investigation.” “Those experts have considered our latest information. At that time of night, at this time of year, and entering the water from the middle of a bridge at height, the chances of Ezedi surviving are extremely remote. The Thames current is very strong which is an additional factor,” he said.
The Met Police’s Marine Policing Unit will be carrying out boat searches at low tide in the area over the coming days as they have not recovered a body at this stage.
“We have updated Ezedi’s family this afternoon (Friday) with these latest developments and they are being supported by a specialist family liaison officer. Notwithstanding the horrific crime Ezedi committed, his family undoubtedly will be struggling to come to terms with the events of the last week and this latest development,” he said.
Around 500 people across the London region have called police with information about Ezedi and his possible whereabouts since the incident happened.
“Our thoughts are also with the 31-year-old woman who remains in a critical but stable condition sedated in hospital on her long road to recovery,” added Commander Savell. PTI AK AMS
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