Police in Hong Kong have arrested a man accused of carrying out a series of acid attacks after a group of tourists were targeted at a street market.
The man, who police believe could be behind a campaign of terror in which 100 people have been injured in the last 13 months, was detained early on Sunday morning, just hours after 30 people were hurt when two bottles of acid were thrown into the Temple Street night market in Kowloon, one of Hong Kong’s most popular tourist attractions.
The bottles containing a foul-smelling, corrosive liquid exploded on the street at 9.30pm on Saturday, when the market was packed with shoppers and people eating at outdoor restaurants. The victims, who included a seven year-old child and nine tourists, suffered burns to their faces, arms and legs.
“People were running for shelter and some were screaming. It was chaotic,” said a Malaysian tourist.
Local residents blocked the exits of buildings in the area, one of the most densely populated parts of Hong Kong, before hundreds of police started searching the surrounding rooftops. The suspect, a Chinese man in his 30s, was found hiding on an upper floor of a building next to Temple Street with two lids that fitted the bottles used in the attack, according to a police spokesman.
Telegraph – Hong Kong acid attack: man arrested after tourists targeted.