British police on Wednesday launched a wide-ranging operation to find a man still armed with a crossbow, suspected of “targeting” the killing of three women, a mother and her two daughters, at a home in a small town north of London.
Three women, aged 25, 28 and 61, were “very seriously injured” by police who were called to Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday evening, the latter said in a statement.
Courtesy Hertfordshire Police
“Women from the same family died shortly after emergency services arrived on site,” he added.
The public broadcaster said the victims were the wife and two daughters of BBC radio presenter John Hunt.
Police are looking for 26-year-old Kyle Clifford, whose portrait has been widely circulated in the British media.
According to Hertfordshire Police Chief Constable John Simpson, investigators believe the attack on the victims was “targeted” and urged members of the public not to approach the suspect who was “holding a crossbow”.
Addressing the suspect, he urged him to “contact the police.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the attack as “deeply shocking” to X.
No specific license is required in the UK to own a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without reasonable excuse.
In March, a 47-year-old man was arrested after two people were injured in two separate crossbow attacks in London’s Shoreditch.
A crossbow, knives and other weapons were found in the suspect’s home, police said.
A more notable incident involving a crossbow occurred in 2021 when a man named Jaswant Singh Sail entered the grounds of Windsor Castle. He admitted wanting to kill Queen Elizabeth II and was jailed for nine years last year.
