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A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after people were allegedly attacked with a “form of pepper spray” at a multistorey car park at Heathrow airport Terminal 3, police have said.
The Metropolitan police said armed officers were called to the terminal’s car park at about 8.11am to a report of people being assaulted.
A group of men allegedly sprayed people with what was believed to be a kind of pepper spray before leaving the scene, the Met said in a statement.
The London ambulance service responded and said it had treated 21 patients, of whom five were taken to hospital. Among those treated was a three-year-old girl.
Tom Bate, who was caught up in the incident after landing at Heathrow on Sunday morning, said he was shaken up after people began coughing and his throat burned. “Everyone was coughing and looking at each other thinking how weird it was that we were coughing at the same time,” he said.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assault, and inquiries continued to trace further suspects, police said.
Commander Peter Stevens said: “Our team have been working at pace today to review CCTV from the area and speak with witnesses at the scene.
“At this stage, it’s 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.
“This occurred within a car park lift, with those in the lift and surrounding area affected by the spray.
“Our 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.
“We appreciate that this has been a concerning incident and I commend the actions of the emergency services and members of staff at Heathrow airport.”
Police said the victims’ injuries were not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.
A London ambulance service spokesperson said: “We have a number of resources on scene, and are caring for a number of patients.” The service later said it had been stood down from the scene at 10.58am.
A London fire brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters have been providing specialist assistance alongside multi-agency partners at the scene. The brigade was stood down shortly after 10.30.”
Footage posted on social media appeared to show a man being handcuffed, and ambulances, fire engines and armed officers at the scene.
Bate said he had seen three men who did not have luggage running past the lift lobby of the car park at Terminal 3 at about 8am, shortly after he had landed from the US.
“The second they left people started coughing one by one,” he said. “There must have been about 50 of us in the lobby waiting for the lifts and it was really eerie because everyone started coughing, including me.
“There was a burning taste in my throat and there were children there, there were elderly people. A lot of people were exposed to whatever this was.”
The student, 27, who was travelling to London to spend Christmas with his family, said he went to his car and began driving down the car park ramp.
“That was when I saw what must have been 20 very heavily armed police officers running and looking really quite stricken,” he said. “During this I said to one officer: ‘What’s going on?’ and he said: ‘We don’t know – there’s been an attack.’”
Bate said he had given a statement to police and was kept in the car park with other passengers for more than an hour.
“It was total gridlock. They swept the whole garage, every car, they were very professional and very quick,” he said. “It felt really terrifying.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said its teams were responding to the incident with the emergency services. Heathrow has advised passengers to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and, if they have any queries, to check with their airline.
The terminal remained open throughout, though the incident caused some traffic and public transport disruption.
The policing minister, Sarah Jones, said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by the incident at Heathrow this morning. My heartfelt thanks go to the emergency services for their rapid response and the arrest made.
“I am being regularly updated on the investigation. Those in the area should follow police advice.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101, quoting CAD 1803 7 DEC.
