Moment armed police raid pizza takeaway where chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi worked after revealing possible motive - as victim's friend says mother just wanted a 'safe home for her beautiful girls'

Armed police have raided a pizza takeaway where chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi worked as the manhunt for the fugitive continues.

A major hunt is underway for Ezedi, 35, who is accused of pouring a strong alkali on his ex-partner and injuring her two young children, aged three and eight, in an attack in Clapham, south London last Wednesday.

Two warrants were executed at properties associated with Ezedi in Newcastle this morning, including his place of work, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.

Officers were seen outside Best Bite pizza shop in Forest Hall Road, Newcastle.

Reports said a battering ram was used to gain access to an upstairs flat before officers spent a couple of hours searching the flat and takeaway. Detectives were seen removing some items in evidence bags including the hard drive from the shop’s CCTV.

The takeaway manager told the Sun: ‘They came and searched and found nothing.’

No arrests have been made and inquiries and searches continue. The force said it was a joint operation with Northumbria Police. 

This update comes as the search for fugitive Ezedi entered its second week with police revealing the motive behind the ‘brutal’ attack appears to be the breakdown of a relationship.

Close friends have also said the woman left severely injured after being doused with a corrosive chemical is a devoted mother who only wanted a safe home for her children.

Armed police were seen outside Best Bite pizza shop in Forest Hall Road, Newcastle

Numerous police cars and officers outside the pizza restaurant in Newcastle

The manager of Best Bite Pizza and Grill House in Forest Hall Road said Ezedi worked there for ‘a couple of weeks’ about 18 months ago

Officers outside the pizza shop in Newcastle as the manhunt for fugitive Ezedi continues

The Metropolitan Police said two raids were carried out by armed officers at addresses in Newcastle associated with alkali attack suspect Abdul Ezedi in the early hours of Thursday morning

The manhunt for fugitive Abdul Ezedi (pictured) entered its second week with police revealing the motive behind the ‘brutal’ attack appears to be the breakdown of a relationship

Friends have launched a fundraiser for the victims of the Clapham chemical attack to help the ‘generous, sweet loving mother’ and her two daughters ‘rebuild their lives’

Friends have released an edited image of a mother and her daughters who were hurt.

The 31-year-old may lose the sight in her right eye and remains sedated in hospital eight days on from the attack.

In a statement, close friends of the victim who have launched a fundraiser for the family said: ‘Our friend is first and foremost a devoted and loving mother.

‘Her children are her life. She is generous to a fault and a wonderful cook and host.

‘All she has ever wanted is a safe home for her and her beautiful, kind little girls.’

The comments come after the manager of Best Bite Pizza and Grill House in Forest Hall Road said Ezedi worked there for ‘a couple of weeks’ about 18 months ago.

The manager said Ezedi came into the takeaway looking for work and showed his ‘work permit’.

He did some training in the kitchen and leafleting but there was no job available for him.

The manager, who asked not to be named, said: ‘He was just a normal guy. It was a big shock to see him on the news.

‘I remembered his name and that he showed his visa or work permit. He was looking for a job but wasn’t here for long.

‘We had no problems with him and I had no idea he was a sex offender.’

Meanwhile a major manhunt is underway for the suspect, with the last confirmed sighting at around 11pm on Wednesday January 31, a few hours after the attack, on Vauxhall Bridge Road in central London.

Ezedi was caught on CCTV footage buying groceries the day before the attack

Officers were seen outside Best Bite pizza shop in Forest Hall Road, Newcastle, where a dawn raid took place today (stock image)

In new videos Ezedi can be seen walking casually up to and across Vauxhall Bridge in central London

Ezidi’s route appears to broadly follow the River Thames

He was initially travelling around on the Tube network using his bank card and after that appears to have been walking a route that broadly hugged the River Thames.

Investigators said the victim had agreed to meet him on the day of the attack, and that she and her children were in a car with Ezedi when he struck.

Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said on Wednesday the manhunt for Ezedi is ‘an incredibly high-priority attempted murder investigation’.

Turning to potential motives, he said: ‘They were in a relationship and that relationship had broken down.’

Ezedi, who is not the father of the children who were hurt, suffered significant facial injuries that could prove fatal if left untreated.

Detective Superintendent Rick Sewart, who is leading the hunt for the refugee, said: ‘The medical injuries to Ezedi appear very significant from imagery that we have recovered, to the right side of his face.

‘And through the National Crime Agency we have received medical interpretation which would indicate that his injuries could be potentially fatal if not treated.’

Afghan-born Ezedi came to the UK hidden in a lorry in 2016, and was turned down twice for asylum before successfully appealing against the Home Office rejection by claiming he had converted to Christianity.

He was convicted of two sexual offences in 2018 but was allowed to stay in the UK because his crimes were not serious enough to meet the threshold for deportation.

A tribunal judge is understood to have ruled in favour of his asylum claim in 2020 after a retired Baptist church minister confirmed he had converted to Christianity, reportedly describing Ezedi as ‘wholly committed’ to his new religion.

On Wednesday, a Baptist church in Tyne and Wear confirmed it was aware of a ‘connection’ it had with the suspect.

In a statement, the church in Jarrow said: ‘Grange Road Baptist Church brings together and welcomes people from all walks of life and from many different nations.

‘We are aware of the connection Abdul Shakoor Ezedi has had with our church.

‘As soon as we became aware of the current situation, we made contact with and are co-operating with the relevant authorities. We are praying for all those affected by the situation.’

Investigators say they are keeping an open mind as to whether Ezedi is dead, possibly after jumping in the river, or whether he is being helped to stay hidden.

Details of Ezedi were circulated to all UK forces and ports at an early stage.

Darius Nasimi, from the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association charity, called on anyone in the community who may be helping him to contact police.

It was earlier revealed that Ezedi strolled past Scotland Yard just hours after the incident. He was seen on CCTV last Wednesday passing Westminster Pier in front of the police headquarters – where officers were launching a huge manhunt for him.

New footage was released last night that showed him strolling through crowds of people in Westminster with his hand in his pocket just three hours after the attack.

The CCTV shows the hooded figure looking unhurried as he walks towards the Houses of Parliament at around 10.28pm before he crossed over Westminster Bridge.

He was later captured on CCTV passing the perimeter fence of the SIS building – the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service – before he crossed Vauxhall Bridge at 11pm.

Hundreds of calls have been received from the public with possible sightings, but he has not been seen since that evening and has not used his bank cards. Officers are now relying on CCTV to piece together his movements.

Detectives say there is no evidence suggesting Ezedi made advance preparations to go on the run and he does not appear to have stockpiled any cash.

The suspect left his phone and car at the scene, which is making the search more challenging.

Earlier this week, a friend revealed that Clapham alkali attack suspect Ezedi was ‘very angry’ and vowed to avenge the armed robbers who shot his sister dead in his native Afghanistan.

Ezedi had been sending money back to his family in Afghanistan which he had earned while working in a pizza takeaway in Tyneside.

A close friend, who worked alongside Ezedi in the takeaway, has revealed how distraught the chemical attacker was after his sister was shot dead by armed robbers who were trying to steal the money he had sent home.

The 33-year-old friend, who is an Iranian asylum seeker, also claimed Ezedi is from a strict Muslim family and believed his father would be enraged by his conversion to Christianity.

Ezedi’s colleagues were shocked when he was arrested for a sexual assault and exposing himself – offences committed against two different women within a few weeks of each other.

He was given a suspended sentence and released on an electronic tag but went on to find new employment, enrol on a college course in Newcastle and was eventually granted asylum at the third time of asking.