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11th Jul 2017

A man has been charged over acid attack on aspiring model

She was celebrating her 21st birthday.

Jade Hayden

On June 21, Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were sitting in traffic in London when a man threw acid through their car window.

The aspiring model and her cousin suffered intense burns to their faces and bodies following the attack carried out by 24-year-old John Tomlin.

The pair were celebrating Khan’s 21st birthday.

Tomlin was charged on Monday with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He had been arrested by police on Sunday and is expected to go before Thames Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Speaking to Channel 4 News sometime after the attack, Muhktar said that Tomlin approached the car and squirted a clear liquid over them. Muhktar said he thought the liquid was water.

“Then my cousin started to scream. Next thing I’m burning, my seat’s burning, my trainers are burning, her skin is peeling. Straight away this is happening, within seconds.”

Muhktar also said that he believes the attack was a hate crime.

“Maybe he’s got it in for Muslims because of the things that have been going on lately (…) If this was an Asian guy like myself going up to a couple in a car and acid attacking them, I know for a fact, and the whole country knows, that it would be classed as a terrorist attack.”

Khan and Muhktar both underwent skin grafts after the attack.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to provide financial support to Khan and her family.