A teenager suffered potentially life-changing injuries after an unknown substance was thrown over him during a disturbance near the Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of assault, and he remains in custody as officers investigate what led to the attack. The incident is concerning both because of the severity of the victim's injuries and the fact it unfolded in a busy city-centre location.

Police were called to Exchange Square at around 6.10pm following a verbal altercation, after which the substance was thrown at the victim, a male in his mid-teens. Emergency services, including fire crews and paramedics, attended the scene, with a witness telling the Manchester Evening News that firefighters hosed down the teenager before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. His injuries have been described as not life-threatening but potentially life-changing, and GMP has appealed for witnesses or anyone with CCTV, mobile or dashcam footage to come forward, quoting log number 2156 of 12 September 2026.