A man has been arrested in London after several people were reportedly assaulted with pepper spray in a car park at Heathrow Airport on Sunday, police said.
Officers were called at 8.11am to reports that multiple people had been assaulted at the multistorey car park at Terminal 3.
Armed police attended and found a number of people thought to have been attacked with what the Metropolitan Police said was believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then fled the scene.
Ambulance crews treated 21 people at the scene and five were taken to the hospital, though their injuries were not believed to be serious.
The incident occurred after an argument escalated between two groups who knew each other, the Metropolitan Police said.
One man was being held on suspicion of assault. Police were on Sunday searching for other suspects who left the scene. The incident is not being treated as terrorism, Scotland Yard confirmed.
In a statement on X, Heathrow Airport said its teams were also responding to the incident, with passengers advised to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any queries.
The incident caused several hours of delays for passengers using the terminal.
British media outlets said public transport has been halted. Heathrow tunnels have been reportedly closed, with LUL and Elizabeth Lines suspended.
Tense scenes in footage posted on social media showed armed police searching the Heathrow car park, while drivers were stuck at a standstill in their cars.
