The UK police have launched a hate crime investigation into an acid attack against two Muslim cousins in east London.
Jameel Muhktar and Resham Khan were sitting in their car at traffic lights in Beckton on the morning of 21 June, Khan’s 21st birthday, when a man approached their car, knocked on the window and sprayed acid on them.
They both suffered severe burns to their faces and bodies while Jameel was briefly placed in an induced coma.
Police identified the assailant as 24-year-old John Tomlin (pictured below) but had yet to arrest him for the attack. They concluded in their initial investigations that the attacker had no racial or religious motivations.
However, the Metropolitan Police said Friday that they were treating the case as a possible hate crime after finding new evidence.
“This investigation continues to move at great pace and my team continues to act on a number of leads to find Tomlin. I would also appeal directly to Tomlin to…