LONDON: UK police were probing on Sunday an assault involving pepper spray at a Heathrow Airport car park that disrupted travel and left 21 people, including a three-year-old girl, needing medical treatment. In a depature from an earlier account of the incident at Terminal 3&#39;s multi-storey car park, London&#39;s Metropolitan Police said it now appeared to have stemmed from a suitcase robbery by people known to each other. Commander Peter Stevens, who had previously characterised it as an argument that escalated into a fight, said investigators had pieced together the chaotic chain of events after reviewing CCTV and interviewing witnesses. &quot;At this stage, it&#39;s understood that a woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men, who sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray in her direction,&quot; he added. &quot;This occurred within a car park lift, with those in the lift and surrounding area affected by the spray. &quot;Our officers are working to determine the full circumstances around what happened but we do believe this to be an isolated incident with those directly involved known to each other.&quot; Armed officers arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of assault after responding to the scene shortly after 8am (0800 GMT). &quot;He remains in custody and enquiries remain ongoing to locate further suspects,&quot; police said in an update. Emergency responders treated 21 patients, with five taken to hospital, the London Ambulance Service said. The three-year-old received treatment at the scene, with all the injuries &quot;not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening&quot;, according to police. Firefighters provided &quot;specialist assistance&quot; at the scene, London&#39;s Fire Brigade said. Terminal 3 at Europe&#39;s busiest airport remained open throughout, but the incident prompted severe traffic and public transport disruption in the area, according to officials and reports. Passengers complained about having missed flights due to its impact. &quot;We were literally stuck for an hour-and-a-half,&quot; Jayesh Patel, whose family were headed to the airport for a flight to India, told AFP. &quot;We ran to the gate, and we missed the check-in by three minutes, and we were turned away. &quot;So we&#39;re gonna have to drive 100 miles back home.&quot;

Screengrab of London's Heathrow airport as London police say they have arrested a man for suspected assault with a "form of pepper spray" at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3. (AFP)

United Kingdom

A pepper spray assault linked to a suitcase robbery at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3 injured 21 people, including a child, disrupted travel, and resulted in one arrest, while police continue searching for additional suspects.

Police probe pepper spray assault at Heathrow Airport car park

PARIS: A theft occurred at the Louvre on Sunday, France&rsquo;s culture minister said, as the museum closed for the day while authorities investigate. &ldquo;A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,&rdquo; Rachida Dati wrote on X. The Louvre said it would close &ldquo;for exceptional reasons,&rdquo; offering no further details on the heist. No injuries were reported. Dati said she was on site and that an investigation was underway. French daily Le Parisien reported that the criminals entered the world&rsquo;s most visited museum and former palace via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. The report said they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly stole &ldquo;nine pieces from the jewellery collection of Napoleon and the Empress,&rdquo; Le Parisien said. The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous was in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence &mdash; an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci&rsquo;s portrait the world&rsquo;s best-known artwork. In 1983, two Renaissance-era pieces of armor were stolen from the Louvre and only recovered nearly four decades later. The museum&rsquo;s collection also bears the legacy of Napoleonic-era looting that continues to spark restitution debates today. The Louvre is home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting &mdash; from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters. Its star attractions include the Mona Lisa, as well as the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The Galerie d&rsquo;Apollon, where Sunday&rsquo;s theft reportedly took place, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.

Europe

France’s culture minister announced that the Louvre Museum in Paris has been closed following a reported robbery. Authorities are investigating the incident, and details about what was stolen or suspects involved have not yet been released.


Articles tagged with "Robbery"

Police probe pepper spray assault at Heathrow Airport car park

Louvre closed after robbery, French culture minister reports