Armed Teens Torch Restaurant with Customers Trapped Inside

Two teenagers have been sentenced after taking part in a terrifying arson attack at a crowded restaurant in London that left customers with devastating burns.

The two 17-year-olds stormed the Indian Aroma restaurant in Gants Hill, East London, at around 9 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2025, alongside a third person.

According to prosecutors, the attack was carefully planned.

The teens entered the restaurant carrying large bladed weapons resembling machetes while their accomplice moved toward the back of the dining room with containers of gasoline.

There were eight customers inside at the time.

Prosecutors said the peaceful evening was suddenly shattered as the attackers ordered diners to remain in their seats and threatened them with long knives and swords.

One of the teens stood near the entrance while another helped guard the door as gasoline was poured across the floor, furniture and areas around the customers.

The judge said earlier claims that gasoline had been poured directly onto one diner’s back were not clearly supported by the surveillance footage.

However, he said fuel had been spread extensively around chairs where customers were sitting.

The group then backed out of the restaurant and held the door mostly closed.

One of them lit a piece of paper, igniting the gasoline and causing what the court described as an explosion and fireball inside the restaurant.

The attackers then fled in a stolen Toyota Prius.

Six London Fire Brigade vehicles and other emergency crews responded to the scene.

Several diners suffered catastrophic injuries.

One woman was placed in a medically induced coma after her clothing melted onto her skin.

She suffered burns over 50 percent of her body, including full-thickness burns covering approximately 45 percent of her body.

Her husband was seen running from the burning restaurant with his clothing on fire.

He suffered mixed-depth burns over 51 percent of his body.

In a statement read to the court, he said he did not wake up until 45 days after the attack.

Prosecutors said the couple’s lives had been completely transformed by what happened.

Another victim told the court that before the attack she had been an independent woman with plans and hope for the future.

“What I have now is a life that has been completely upended by 30 seconds of someone else’s violence,” she said.

Another diner described suffering “agonising physical pain.”

Police said the attackers had spent time preparing for the assault.

Investigators traced the stolen getaway car using surveillance cameras, traffic cameras and automatic license plate recognition systems.

Police said the vehicle had traveled from South London to the area before the attack.

Surveillance footage also showed one of the defendants visiting a gas station and stealing several liters of gasoline by filling containers.

Investigators later recovered the stolen Prius.

Inside, they found evidence including a spout from one of the gasoline containers used during the attack.

Cellphones recovered from the vehicle also helped investigators identify the suspects.

Police arrested the teenagers approximately two weeks later and recovered clothing, including sneakers and a ski mask, that matched items seen on surveillance footage.

The teens denied the most serious charges but were convicted after a lengthy trial at London’s Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey.

Both were found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life and possession of an offensive weapon.

One of the teens had also previously pleaded guilty to failing to provide authorities with the PIN needed to access a device.

At sentencing, Judge Michael Grieve described the attack as a “sophisticated and professional operation” involving a high degree of planning.

He said both teens understood that their actions were almost certain to cause serious injuries and could easily have killed innocent people.

The judge also said he believed the teenagers had been acting at the direction of an older and more experienced criminal who has not been identified.

Despite that possibility, he said the pair carried out their roles “with cold blood.”

An attorney representing one teenager argued that the boy may have been subjected to ongoing criminal exploitation leading up to the attack.

An attorney for the other teen said her client was sorry for the life-changing injuries suffered by the victims and claimed he had been told the restaurant would be empty.

The judge sentenced each teenager to an extended sentence consisting of 10 years in custody followed by an additional three-year period under supervision.

The third person accused of participating in the attack was not part of the trial or sentencing hearing.

Police have not publicly established a motive for the attack.

Detectives said the incident required a complex investigation involving extensive surveillance footage and digital evidence.

For the people inside the restaurant, the consequences have lasted far beyond the few seconds it took for the fire to erupt.

Several survivors continue to live with severe physical injuries and emotional trauma from an attack that prosecutors said could easily have ended with multiple deaths.