What we know so far after Heathrow incident
One man has been arrested, and further suspects are being traced, after several people were "sprayed with a form of pepper spray" at London's Heathrow Airport. Officers were called at 8.11am to a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 following reports of multiple people being assaulted, said the Metropolitan Police.
A statement from the force said: "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."
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Fire engines responding to the incident at Heathrow Airport. Pic: @_umarjaved
Police are not treating the Heathrow incident as terrorism.
London Ambulance Service also attended the scene and treated 21 people, including five who were taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.There is currently some disruption to traffic in the area and Terminal 3 remains open.
Eyewitness describes 'absolutely terrifying' ordealWitness Tom Bate told Sky's Matt Barbet that he saw three "young men, dressed in black with their heads covered" suddenly bolt from the elevator area.
That's when "people started coughing", he said. "Suddenly... everyone in the room was coughing, including me, and there was a burning in my throat."It was one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced."
Mr Bate was in the multi-storey car park at Terminal 3, having just landed from Dallas, Texas.As he was leaving the car park, he saw "10-20 armed police officers" run in."The [police] did, in fact, point their gun at someone and order him to the ground and detain him," he said. "And they got me out of the vehicle to ID the person."Mr Bate described the incident as "pretty intense" and "absolutely terrifying".Increased police presenceCommander Peter Stevens said: "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."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."'Significant incident'The London Ambulance Service said a "significant incident" was declared.There was a "full deployment" of resources and the ambulance service is treating it as ongoing.A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "We were called at 8.14am today to assist emergency service colleagues at an incident near Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport. Firefighters remain at the scene."Heathrow is advising passengers to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any queries.There was disruption to train and Tube services, with some delays on the Elizabeth Line and the Piccadilly Line.
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A queue to exit the Elizabeth Line at Heathrow after the incident. Pic: PA
National Rail said on its website that lines had been reopened allowing trains to call at Heathrow "following the emergency services dealing with an incident at the airport".It said: "Although lines have now reopened, disruption is expected to continue whilst services return to normal, delays of up to 10 minutes and cancellations can be expected until 11.45am."
National Highways East said on X: "A serious incident within the @HeathrowAirport Tunnel has resulted in the closure of the #M4 spur road southbound between M4 and J4A."@metpoliceuk responding. We'll keep you updated."It later said: "Incident has been resolved and all closures lifted on the #M4 southbound @HeathrowAirport spur road between #M4 and J4A."People on social media have reported vehicles were being searched at the airport.A user on X said there was a "major backlog of cars unable to leave the vicinity or enter the drop-off zone" at Terminal 3.In footage on X, several armed police were seen in a car park.
