CHEMICAL fugitive Abdul Ezedi threw himself off Chelsea Bridge and drowned in the River Thames, police believe.
The 35-year-old Afghan refugee has not been seen since the night he allegedly doused a mother and her daughters with a hot corrosive liquid.
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Officers appear to believe Abdul Ezedi drowned
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The suspect was seen with his face melted shortly after the attack
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The last sighting was on Chelsea Bridge just before 11.30pm
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Ezedi is seen crossing the road as he approaches the bridge Credits: PA
He was last seen on CCTV near the bridge shortly before 11.30pm last Wednesday, four hours after the attack in Clapham, south-west London.
The Sun Online previously revealed that detectives now believe Ezedi disappeared into the river shortly afterwards.
One source said: “The investigation team believe Ezedi died shortly after he was last seen on camera on the north side of the river.”
The theory was confirmed by the Met today after Ezedi was last seen walking to and from the fence at the center of Chelsea Bridge.
Ezedi crossed the bridge twice, initially heading south, and entered Battersea Park at 11.25pm.
Commander Jon Savell added: “Our main working hypothesis is that he went into the water.
“There is no sight of him coming over the bridge.
“There is no positive vision or body.
New CCTV footage of the Clapham Alkaline attacker has emerged as officers make arrests in their hunt for the fugitive
“We are working with our experts in our maritime police unit and a specialist oceanographer.
“It’s very likely, if he got in, he won’t show up for a month, or maybe he’ll never come out.”
The Metropolitan Police said Clapham attack suspect Alkala Ezedi’s “behaviour” changed as he walked across Chelsea Bridge.
Speaking at a briefing at Scotland Yard, Commander Jon Savell added: “When he gets to Chelsea Bridge, his behavior seems to change.
“Previously, I would describe him as walking somewhat purposefully, as if he knew where he was going and was walking at a reasonable pace.
“By the time he gets to Chelsea Bridge, he’s crossed the bridge more than once.
“And then when he comes back to the center, he seems to move from the fence back to the sidewalk and look over the edge of the fence.
“So a distinct change in the way he moved.”
Two minutes later he was again seen on camera returning to the north side of Chelsea Bridge, in west London.
The officer said he does not believe Ezedi was helped by friends during his four-mile journey to flee from police.
Commander Savell also revealed that a behavioral scientist at the National Crime Agency (NCA) had been studying Ezedi’s last movements along the river.
He told Met that Ezedi had committed a horrific attack and that it was possible he could have taken his own life as a result.
Commander Savell added: “We are in contact with a member of his family as we speak, it will be devastating news, they will find out what he has done.
“Our thoughts remain with the victim who is still too weak to speak.”
Police will now carry out a search of the River Thames – and Ezedi’s family have been informed.
Chemical attack
The conclusion reached by the detectives suggests that there are no further sightings of Ezedi.
He received a terrible wound on the right side of his face, which he allegedly received during the attack at 19:25.
He arranged to meet the 31-year-old woman after she broke up with him and drove to London from his home in Newcastle in a white Hyundai.
When the woman and her children got into his car, he threw a bottle of lye in her face causing horrific facial injuries.
She and her eldest daughter ran from the vehicle, and Ezedi then ran after her and crashed the car.
Ezedi fled on foot and took the Tube from Clapham South to King’s Cross in north London, before returning south again.
He got off at Tower Hill and CCTV showed him walking west on Southwark Bridge to Blackfriars where he was seen outside the Unilever building at 10.04pm.
He continued walking west, his route hugging the Thames and passing a few yards from New Scotland Yard before crossing Westminster Bridge.
Terrible injuries
Pursuit experts from the Met’s counter-terrorism fugitive teams then located him 59 minutes later on CCTV on the north side of Vauxhall Bridge.
From there he continued walking west to Chelsea Bridge, where he is now believed to have jumped into the dark tidal waters.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, Commander Savell said: “It is possible that he went into the Thames.
“Unfortunately we are getting people out of the Thames and it takes a while for that to happen.
“It is a very fast body of water. No one saw anyone go into the Thames and no body was found.”
He added that the police were considering whether Ezedi ended up in the river “on purpose or by accident”.
Meanwhile, the mother injured in the chemical attack remains in a “critical but stable” condition in hospital.
She suffered life-changing injuries and doctors said she could lose her right eye.
Her young daughters were also injured in the attack and are thriving.
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The hunt reached the ninth day
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education