Teen gets 8 years for unprovoked acid attack at UK train station

A 17-year-old in Essex was sentenced to eight years in jail Friday for an acid attack on a group of friends at a train station, The Guardian reported.

Alexander Bassey, who reportedly showed no remorse after the March 22 attack, admitted to three charges of causing grievous harm, according to the report. The three victims suffered permanent scars and one of them may have suffered a life-changing eye injury.

The Sun reported that the teens said they thought they were going to die when splashed with the highly corrosive substance that “burned into their flesh.”

A video provided by the British Transport Police showed the brief interaction at the South Ockendon station in Essex. Police said it shows Bassey running up to the teens who were sitting on a bench on the train platform.

He takes out what appeared to be a water bottle and squeezes its contents out into the vicitims’ direction. The teens can be seen running. The Sun said the substance was an alkaline liquid.

Jason Corden-Bowden, the prosecutor in the case, said Bassey “went out that evening with a bottle of highly corrosive industrial strength drain cleaner with the intention of brining harm to someone.”

Authorities said it was a random attack.