why do people do things like this?

4 men have been arrested on suspicion of throwing acid on a 3-year-old while he was sitting in his stroller

Sinéad Baker

https://www.businessinsider.com/three-arrested-3-year-old-deliberately-targeted-acid-attack-england-2018-7?r=UK&IR=T

A boy, aged three, was doused with either acid or another corrosive substance while in a stroller outside a store in western England.
He suffered serious burns to his arms and face, and could suffer long-term implications.
Police say the child was “targeted” but there is no clear motive.
A 39-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, and three men in their 20s were arrested on Monday.
The rate of acid attacks in the UK has been rising, with the government forced to introduce new legislation to fight the problem.
Four men have been arrested after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured in an apparent acid attack in England.

The boy was “deliberately targeted” when a corrosive substance was thrown in his face on Saturday afternoon, West Mercia Police said.

The boy was taken to hospital and treated for serious burns to his arms and face. He has been discharged, but police said the attack could still have “long-term implications” for his health.

Officers can’t yet say whether the substance was acid specifically, or a different corrosive liquid.

The attack took place at Home Bargains, a discount homeware store, in Worcester, western England. It was around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, and the boy was in his stroller at the time.

A 39-year-old man arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Three more men, agd 22, 25, and 26, were arrested on suspicion of the same charge early on Monday. None has been named.

Investigators say they do not yet have a motive for the attack.

The number of acid attacks in the UK has been rising in the past few years, and. Britain has one of the world’s highest rates of acid attacks and attacks with other corrosive substances.

Some attacks are related to gang fights, with London facing the problem of moped riders using acid.

Unlike with knives, carrying corrosive substances was not a specific offense in the UK until recently, meaning it was harder for police to take action against who armed themselves in this way.

New legislation published in June makes it a criminal offense to sell a corrosive product to someone under 18, and creates a new criminal offense of possessing a corrosive substance in a public place.