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'Acid is now a fashionable weapon of choice' - Britain averages one acid attack EVERY SINGLE DAY

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'We educate on how bad knife crime is, but substance attacks are becoming more frequent now.'

Chris Bonney opened his front door on a crisp February morning last winter. Two men apologized to the young father then splashed his body with acid.

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One man was attacked in the street by complete strangers (Chris Bonney/Facebook).

One man was attacked in the street by complete strangers (Chris Bonney/Facebook).

Highlights

By Monique Crawford (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
CALIFORNIA NETWORK (https://www.youtube.com/c/californianetwork)
4/28/2017 (6 years ago)

Published in Europe

Keywords: Acid, attacks, Britain

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Bonney told the Daily Mail he answered the door and was asked, "Are you Chris? We're ever so sorry."

Then the men splashed him with chemicals that immediately began to eat away at the side of his face, arms and legs.


The acid was so strong, it melted the paint from Bonney's front door, burned through his radiators and "destroyed everything it touched."

He was immediately hospitalized and remained in recovery for three weeks.

While speaking to The Victoria Derbyshire, Bonney admitted he had "never seen" his attackers before and police were never able to find a motive or evidence beyond the chemicals used.

There were no suspects but Bonney was told "the people who did it were clearly paid to do this job."

Since the attack, Bonney admitted he suffers anxiety, has vision problems on the left side of his face, which was splashed, and his eyelid is now fused to his eyebrow, which makes him more susceptible to infections.

Bonney stated: "There needs to be some sort of education that it's not acceptable to use [acid] as a weapon. We educate how bad knife crime is, but substance attacks are becoming more frequent now."

Unfortunately, Bonney's case is merely one of hundreds of chemical-related attacks in Britain.

According to Met Police figures, acid is now the weapon of choice in the country.

The BBC reported acid attacks in London have nearly doubled from 2015, which saw 261 such attacks, to 454 in 2016.

Men were found to be twice as likely to be victims of acid attacks in London than women and 74 percent of the cases resulted in victims being unwilling to press charges or victims who were unable to identify their attackers.

In 2014, Wayne Ingold was attacked after being mistaken for someone else. He opened the door to a teen who threw acid on him.

He shared: "The pain on my face was indescribable. my face was melting and turning yellow. One of the police officers was physically sick when he saw my face.

"Internally I'm scarred as well. For ages I was scared of reprisals. I had to move because of it and lost my home. It turned out the boy who did it was 15, and a convicted dealer of cocaine."

Ingold was forced to have a skin graft to replace the lost skin on the back of his neck and doctors had to operate on his shoulder. His face is scarred, as is part of his neck, chest, and shoulders.

Victims of acid attacks are often left with more than just physical scarring.

Victims of acid attacks are often left with more than just physical scarring (Solent News).


Dr Simon Harding, a criminologist and expert on gangs at Middlesex University, explained how simple it is to use chemicals like bleach in surprise attacks.

"It's not prohibitive to carry bleach, you can buy it online or any DIY stores, it's difficult to prove any illegal motive in carrying it and you can hide it or disguise it in a drink bottle.

"A knife attack is attempted murder, but if you're caught in an acid attack it would be GBH (Grievous bodily harm). There's no specific offence regarding acid attacks."

Jaf Shah, of the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International, explained: "The primary motive of an acid attack is not to kill, but to leave its mark on an opponent - to disfigure someone for everyone to see. That's why the face is often the target.

"The shocking thing about acid attacks is that they are so premeditated: The perpetrator is aware of the serious physical and psychological impact these chemicals will have on the victim when they are buying it. That's what makes this weapon so chilling."

This is also why the weapon is popular with younger gang members in the UK.

Dr. Harding explained: "Acid is now a fashionable weapon of choice for criminals and gang members to exert control, to keep people in line, and for revenge attacks.

"Young gang members are always looking for a way of gaining notoriety and 'street capital.' So in the criminal world, to eradicate an enemy's future by disfiguring them, you are the winner. It's a horrible development."

In one instance, erosive chemicals were used as a weapon at Mangle, a nightclub in London.

Two men began to fight, allegedly over drugs. Amid the scuffle, acid was sprayed onto 20 people, leaving two blind in one eye, two men with severe facial injuries, much scarring and many patrons in need of medical treatment.

Australian models Prue Fraser and her sister Isobella were among those sprayed at the club.

Prue told the London Evening Standard: "I ended up in the middle of this fight and I was thrown over the barrier near the bar with all my stuff. Getting up I could feel my arm was burning. It was like boiling water had been poured over me but like I was cut as well.

"I have never experienced anything like it, it was excruciating. We saw six other girls who had it in their eyes, faces and chest areas they were screaming and crying."

Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

According to Acid Violence, survivors are often left with no legal recourse, some are left with permanent disabilities after segments of skin are fused together or completely destroyed, and others are left unable to support themselves any longer.

The psychological impact also runs deep, with some survivors admitting they wish they could have died instead.


Officials have not tied the horror attacks to any particular race or religion, though the majority of attackers were Caucasian.

Authorities remain hard at work to put an end to the violence, but with the easy availability of acids, they find themselves fighting an uphill battle every step of the way.

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