British police said Sunday they have arrested a man after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured in a "deliberate" suspected acid attack in central England on Saturday. The boy is being treated for "serious burns to his arm and face" in hospital following the mid-afternoon incident at a discount store in the city of Worcester, according to local police. A 39-year-old man from the nearby city of Wolverhampton was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and remained in custody Sunday, it said. Police also released photos of three men that investigators would like to speak to.
"At this time we are treating this as a deliberate attack on a three-year-old boy," chief superintendent Mark Travis said, adding the motive was unclear. Britain has seen a spike in the number of acid attacks in recent years, with hundreds of incidents in London alone every year.