Girl, 12, and boy, 16, sprayed with 'unknown substance' in 'linked' attacks in Wandsworth

 
Police are treating the two attacks as linked
Robin de Peyer29 June 2015
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Police are treating two incidents in which children were sprayed with an "unknown substance" as linked.

In one incident, a 12-year-old girl was sprayed in the face by an attacker during the theft of her phone near Wandsworth Common at around 4.15pm on Friday, June 12.

And in another, a 16-year-old boy sprayed as he walked along Gayville Road in Wandsworth with two other friends of the same age. The attacker cycled off after the incident within minutes on the same day, and nothing was stolen.

Detective Constable Catherine Peatfield from Wandsworth CID said: "We are linking both offences and as a result have increased the number of officers patrolling the area. Even though we have two separate suspect descriptions, there is a strong possibility that the offender could be the same person.

"It is not yet clear what the the liquid was; what we do know is that on both occasions it was sprayed from a can. Fortunately none of the victims suffered any serious or long-lasting injuries."

Police want to speak to two people in connection with the incidents.

The first is described as a light-skinned black man, around 5ft 4ins tall with black curly hair. He wore a white top with blue jeans and was riding a dark coloured bike. Police said he spoke with a London accent.

The second is a light-skinned black boy thought to be only around 13. He is 5ft 5ins tall with black curly hair of slim build. He was wearing a black hooded top with tracksuit bottoms and had a small black and white bag with Adidas on the front in white writing over his shoulder and was riding a black and red bike.

Police said there have been no arrests.

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