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Armed police have arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after a number of people were assaulted with ‘pepper spray’ by a group of men.
Police, ambulance and fire engines responded to an incident at the multi-storey car park in Terminal 3 just after 8am this morning.
A group of people had been sprayed with what is understood to be a form of pepper spray by a gang of men who then fled the scene.
One man has been arrested on suspicion of assault, police confirmed, while the search continues to trace other suspects. The incident is not being treated as terrorism.
The incident sparked major chaos within and surrounding the London airport, with LUL and Elizabeth Lines suspended.
Bus drivers were trapped inside the station, having been advised not to leave their vehicles under any circumstances.
The short stay car park entrance was blocked, causing a major backlog of vehicles unable to leave the vicinity.
A Met Police spokesperson 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.’
Commander Pete Stevens said the incident involved a group of people who are understood to be known to each other.
An argument is believed to have escalated and resulted in a number of people being injured, he added.
Commander Stevens told the Mirror: ‘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.’
A Heathrow Airport spokesman said this morning: ‘Our teams are responding to an incident with the emergency services in the multi storey car park in Terminal 3. We will provide updates shortly.’
A London Fire Brigade spokesman 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.’
Tense footage posted on social media shows armed police searching the Heathrow car park, while drivers are stuck still in their cars.
One trapped driver wrote on X: ‘Who knows what’s happening at Heathrow T3, stuck here for nearly an hour and armed police searching every car about.’
National Rail has since confirmed train lines have since reopened, but disruption is expected to continue throughout the day.
A spokesperson said: ‘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 is expected to continue whilst services return to normal, delays of up to 10 minutes and cancellations can be expected until 11:45.’
