Police are investigating after a video showing someone throwing a heavy chair over the balcony of Stratford Westfield shopping centre went viral on social media.
The video, filmed on Snapchat and shared on TikTok, shows a young man struggling to pick up and carry a large chair before dropping it from the first floor of the east London shopping centre.
As he struggled to pick up the large blue seat, the boy recording could be heard saying ‘there’s no way this guy’s doing this, oh my god’.
The seat made a loud bang as it dropped to the ground, landing close to five people who were simply trying to do some shopping.
The shoppers turned in disbelief as the chair landed about a foot away from them.
Afterwards three boys – the one who threw the seat, one filming, and another boy – were recorded running away from the scene, shouting as they ran up an escalator.
As they reached the top, the boy who threw the seat turned around and said ‘I can’t believe I did that’ to the boy filming.
The footage was uploaded to Snapchat with the caption ‘No way bro almost killed someone, Nahhh,’ with two laughing emojis.
Social media users have condemned the footage, with some even accusing the boy who threw the chair of attempted murder.
One commenter said: ‘If there was a mother and a pram with her baby underneath then no one survives that.
‘It’s attempted murder and he should be found.’
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Another commented: ‘I’m imagining this falling on an elderly person or a toddler. I’m imagining that would potentially kill someone.’
A spokesperson for Westfield shopping centre declined to comment, saying the case is being handled by the Metropolitan Police.
Inspector Dan Window, from the Stratford Neighbourhood Policing Team said: ‘Police are investigating after a heavy seat was thrown over a barrier from the first floor of Westfield shopping centre in Stratford on Saturday, 1 March.
‘The seating was reported to have narrowly missed members of the public below, fortunately there were no injuries.
‘The matter was reported to police on Monday, 3 March and enquires continue.’
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