Suspected UK Hate Crime Acid Attack Prompts Online Petition

Following a suspected racially motivated attack on a man and a woman in the U.K. earlier this week, tens of thousands of people have been signing a petition calling for a ban on the unlicensed sales of sulphuric acid.

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Cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were left with "life-changing" injuries when a corrosive substance was thrown at them through their car windows.

They had been celebrating Khan's 21 birthday before the attack in East London.

“It’s definitely a hate crime. I believe it’s something to do with Islamophobia, maybe. I don’t know if people are trying to retaliate, but we’re innocent people. We didn’t deserve that. It was my cousin’s 21 birthday,” Jameel Muhktar told Channel 4 reporters.

In attempt to escape from the attacker, Muhktar crashed his car into a nearby fence.

“He just squirted this clear liquid all over us, which I thought was water, until my cousin started to scream,” Muhktar said.

Hearing the calls for help, residents rushed to the victims’ aid, throwing water on their injuries before police and medical experts arrived.

The two suffered severe burns to their bodies with young business student Khan, who was closer in proximity to the attacker, suffering the majority of injuries to her face.

A fundraising page, established by one of her friends, has raised almost US$40,000 for Khan’s treatment.

Currently, sulphuric acid and other equally potentially dangerous substances are available to customers in almost any U.K. hardware store.

The online petition, organized by change.org, is pushing for 75,000 signatures to ask the government to impose a ban.

Since 2015, vendors are required to report any suspicious transactions involving sulphuric acid to the authorities, however based on figures from the Metropolitan Police, these preventative measures are not enough.

According to The Times, attacks using corrosive fluids have skyrocketed between 2015 to 2016, from 261 reports to 454.

The Metropolitan Police has released a photo of the suspect in the East London acid attack.

Officers say the alleged attacker is John Tomlin, 24, a Caucasian male who has been known to frequent areas of east London.

Acid is frequently used in attacks all around the world.

Approximately 1,000 such incidents are reported annually in India, according to the nation's Acid Survivors Trust.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Pakistan, Nepal and Uganda also share the highest number of assaults using corrosive substances.