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 Boy, 15, held on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in incident at shopping centre in Stratford 
 
 Teenager arrested after six injured in ‘noxious substance attack’ in London 
 
 Six people have been injured after a noxious substance was thrown during an incident at a shopping centre in east London. 
 
 A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in connection with the incident on Saturday evening. 
 
 Surge in acid attacks in England leads to calls to restrict sales Read more 
 
 Three of the victims needed hospital treatment after they were hit with the substance during an “altercation” between two groups of males at the Stratford Centre. 
 
 
 
 Onlookers reported scenes of panic in the aftermath of the incident, which was first feared to be a series of random attacks. One witness described seeing a young male victim screaming in pain as his friends shouted: “It is an acid attack. He is burning,” while others rushed to wash the substance from their skin. 
 
 Scotland Yard said the altercation took place inside the shopping centre shortly before 8pm. 
 
 “During this incident a noxious substance was thrown. When the liquid was thrown, both groups ran from the scene,” the force said. 
 
 One witness, Imran Tahir Rizvi, said he had overheard the friends of one victim, aged 18 or 19, shouting about an acid attack, then saw a young man lying on the floor screaming about a burning pain. 
 
 “[They were] screaming and shouting for help as he was feeling a burning sensation on his skin,” Rizvi said. 
 
 “His fellows were shouting at police for something. Initially people thought it was a fight. But the guys [with] the victim started shouting: ‘It is an acid attack. He is burning’.” 
 
 A man who gave his name as Hossen, 28, a Burger King assistant manager, said he saw a victim and and another person run into the restaurant’s bathroom “to wash acid off his face”. 
 
 “There were cuts around his eyes and he was trying to chuck water into them,” he said. 
 
 Members of the London ambulance service’s hazardous area response team arrived after the alarm was raised. 
 
 In a video shot by Rizvi, a man could be seen sitting down “crying [and] shouting in pain” while surrounded by paramedics. 
 
 Paul Gibson, the London ambulance service’s assistant director of operations, said teams had arrived within 10 minutes of the first emergency call and had provided first aid with help from the police and London fire brigade. 
 
 “We treated six patients in total and took three to London hospitals,” he said. Scotland Yard said all the victims were male. 
 
 Ch Supt Ade Adelekan, the Newham borough commander, said: “I would like to be very clear concerning this incident. What initially may have been perceived as a number of random attacks has, on closer inspection, been found to be one incident involving two groups of males.” 
 
 A significant rise in acid attacks in the UK has prompted calls in recent months to restrict the sale of corrosive substances which can be bought easily over the counter. 
 
 
 
 “I recognise the lasting impact on victims of corrosive substance attacks,” Adelekan said. “Our response to such attacks is continually improving through training and joint working with partners, and we are working with the Home Office to explore possible restrictions around the sale of corrosive substances in conjunction with retailers and manufacturers.” 
 
 Detectives from Newham criminal investigation department are investigating the incident. 
 
 

 Story highlights Three people taken to hospitals, ambulance service says 
 
 "This incident is not being treated as terror-related," police say 
 
 (CNN) A number of people were injured after a group of males sprayed them with what appears to be "a noxious substance" near Stratford Shopping Centre in East London, London Metropolitan Police said Saturday night. 
 
 It's believed six people were hurt in the incident, police said in a statement, later adding that the injuries were "not life threatening or life changing." London Ambulance Service said six people were treated in all, with three taken to hospitals. 
 
 "This incident is not being treated as terror-related," the police statement said. 
 
 One male was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, police said. 
 
 "We have sent a number of resources to the scene including paramedics in cars, ambulance crews, an incident response officer and our Hazardous Area Response Team," the ambulance service said in a statement. 
 
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 The attack focused around the 1970s shopping mall, the Stratford Centre, which is next to the bus station and a walk through to the Tube station. 
 
 Witnesses at the scene said an argument broke out among a group of people. 
 
 A man who gave his name as Hossen, 28, a Burger King assistant manager, said he saw a victim and his friend, a known local homeless man, run into the fast food outlet bathroom "to wash acid off his face".
– Police say at least six people were injured after being sprayed with "a noxious substance" Saturday night at a popular shopping center in London, CNN reports. According to the Telegraph, witnesses are describing it as an acid attack. Witnesses say the situation at the Stratford Shopping Centre started with an argument between a group of people. Police say there were multiple attacks in various locations around the shopping center and adjoining station carried out by a number of men just before 8pm. Police arrested one man on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and are looking for additional suspects. A spokesperson for the London Metropolitan Police says the attack is not being handled as a terror incident, the Guardian reports. A Burger King employee says one of the victims was a homeless man who ran into the restaurant to splash water on his acid-injured face.