21 people pepper-sprayed in Heathrow Airport suitcase robbery incident

Police arrested a 31-year-old man Sunday at a London airport following a robbery in which 21 people — including a 3-year-old child — were pepper-sprayed and required medical treatment, officials said.

The morning incident happened at Heathrow Airport’s parking garage when a group of four men stole a woman’s suitcase in an elevator and sprayed an irritant at her, the Metropolitan Police said. 

“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,” Commander Peter Stevens said in a statement, adding that passengers in the elevator and surrounding area were also affected.

Police said the suspects then fled the elevator following the incident. They appeared to be three young men dressed in all black with their heads covered, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing a witness.

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Video captured a swarm of officers rushing to the scene of the assault, visibly carrying large firearms as they navigated the multi-story parking garage.

Authorities said the victim and the suspects knew each other, and investigators are not treating the case as a terrorism-related incident.

“At this stage, we believe the incident involved a group of people known to each other, with an argument escalating and resulting in a number of people being injured,” Stevens said.

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“We are not treating this incident as terrorism,” he added. “I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning.”

Officials said the 31-year-old is being held on suspicion of assault, and that authorities are searching for the other suspects who escaped.

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Ambulance crews treated victims at the scene and transported five to the hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to the authorities.

The incident led to hours of travel delays for passengers arriving at and departing from the airport, the AP reported, but operations have since returned to normal, according to the airport in a post on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Metropolitan Police and Heathrow Airport for more information. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.