Police in Hong Kong were Tuesday hunting a mystery high-rise attacker who throws bottles of acid from tower blocks onto shoppers after the culprit struck for a third time.Twenty-four people including a 4-year-old girl were injured after being splashed with corrosive liquid when a bottle was thrown from a high-rise block in the city's Mongkok district Monday evening.
The incident was the third since December in a spate of attacks police believe to be the work of the same person which have left scores of people with acid burns. The bottle was thrown onto crowds of evening shoppers at a busy interchange in the densely populated city of 7 million, close to the scene of the previous two attacks.
Police believe acid drain solvent was used. Screaming victims tore off shirts and tops while shopkeepers helped douse their wounds with cold water in Monday night's attack. Security cameras were set up on rooftops around the area after the previous attack in May, which left 30 injured, and police were Tuesday studying footage for clues to the identity of the attacker. Forty six people were injured in the first incident in December. A reward of almost 40,000 US dollars has been offered for information leading to the capture of the culprit.