Armed police stormed a car park at London Heathrow airport after the Metropolitan Police said multiple people had been assaulted in an incident this morning.
A man was arrested earlier today and enquiries into further suspects are ongoing following a reported "pepper spray" attack.
More than 20 people are known to have been attacked, with five being taken to hospital, the London Ambulance Service has said.
Those travelling to the airport have also experienced delays of as much as three hours as police combed the scene.
An eyewitness has told GB News about the “eerie” and “chaotic” scenes he witnessed early this morning.
Tom Bate, who was returning to the UK from his now permanent home in Dallas, Texas, was among dozens of people gathered to use the lift in the multi-storey car park at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 when the incident occurred.
“It was incredibly eerie because one at a time, everyone, including me, started coughing all at once. It felt like there was a burning at the back of our throats,” he told The People’s Channel.
“There were children, there were elderly people... everyone just coughing and spluttering,” Mr Bate explained.
Initially, he thought it may have been a chemical leak, so he went to retrieve his car.
“I started to drive down from the fifth floor, and as I’m going down the big spiral ramp, suddenly 20 armed officers come barreling through, looking really quite worried.”
An eyewitness described his experience of the incident, including seeing police storm the car park
|Tom Bate
After directing the officers to where he thought the suspects were, he heard armed police screaming: “Get on the f**king ground!"
“They kept us locked down there for over an hour as well. So quite chaotic,” Mr Bate explained.
“They (the armed police) came really quickly... They basically swept the whole parking garage, all five floors and guns drawn.”
He told GB News that the force “were very brave, but you could see they were like ‘this isn’t a drill.’”
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The Met Police confirmed one man had been arrested and others are being sought after the incident
|GB NEWS
Mr Bate explained he his admiration for the police in their fast response time and professionalism amid the harrowing experience.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “Police are in attendance at Heathrow Airport while we investigate the circumstances around the assault of a number of people this morning.
“Officers were called at 08:11hrs to a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 following reports of multiple people being assaulted.
“A number of people were sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then left the scene.
“Armed response officers attended and arrested one man on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody and enquiries continue to trace further suspects.
“London Ambulance Service attended and the victims were taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening,” the statement continued.
Commander Peter Stevens added: “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.“
"Our officers responded quickly and there will be an increased police presence at Heathrow Airport throughout the morning, to continue enquiries and ensure the safety of those in the area.
The injuries of those affected 'are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening'
|GETTY
“We are not treating this incident as terrorism. I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning," he added.
In a statement, Heathrow Airport also said: “Our teams are currently responding to an incident involving the emergency services in the Terminal 3 multi-storey car park.
“Passengers are advised to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any queries,” they added.An eyewitness told GB News that they had seen "at least half a dozen" emergency vehicles "racing down the M4 to the airport".
Travel to and from the airport has been disrupted.
National Rail informed travellers: "Lines have reopened allowing trains to be able to call at Heathrow Airport following the emergency services dealing with an incident at the Airport.
"Although lines have now reopened, disruption to Elizabeth Line services is expected to continue whilst services return to normal, delays of up to 10 minutes and cancellations can be expected until 10:30," they added.
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