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4 months ago
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The Met Commissioner has backed calls for stricter regulation on crossbow ownership in the wake of the Bushey triple murder.
Mark Rowley claimed earlier this morning while speaking on LBC that police had asked 'several times' for changes to be made to laws around crossbow ownership.
He admitted that crossbows are 'horrifically violent and lethal weapons', while agreeing that 'you would expect more regulation around them.'
This comes after Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25 were murdered in their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire last Tuesday.
Mark Rowley admitted that crossbows are 'horrifically violent and lethal weapons' and agreed that 'you would expect more regulation around them'
This prompted a major manhunt, leading to the arrest of Kyle Clifford, a former soldier, near his home in Enfield, north London last Wednesday
Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25 were murdered in their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire last Tuesday
Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt. Investigating officers believe the three women were tied up and gagged for several hours before they were shot with a crossbow
This prompted a major manhunt, leading to the arrest of Kyle Clifford, a former soldier, near his home in Enfield, north London last Wednesday.
Investigating officers believe the three women were tied up and gagged for several hours before they were shot with a crossbow.
Clifford, who was found with allegedly self-inflicted stab wounds, was rushed to hospital to undergo life-saving surgery, where he remains in a serious condition under police guard.
Current regulation around crossbows is that they are subject to statutory controls under the Crossbows Act 1987, which makes it an offence to sell or hire one with a draw weight of 1.4kg or greater, to under-18s in England, Wales and Scotland.
The maximum penalty for the sale or hire of a crossbow to anyone under 18 is six months' imprisonment or a fine.
However, unlike with guns, adults in the UK do not need a license to own a crossbow.
Tragically this triple homicide is not the first crossbow attack in recent years.
In December 2021 Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was caught with a crossbow while breaking into Windsor Castle to 'assassinate the Queen'.
Jaswant Singh Chail was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen. He's seen in a photo taken before his arrest
In January 2023 a damning report detailed how Met police had missed multiple chances to save Sana Muhammad, 35, who was killed with a crossbow
Convicted stalker Bryce Hodgson was shot dead by police in January after he broke into a London home armed with a crossbow
Yvette Cooper will look at the findings of a Home Office review carried out earlier this year after the deaths of John Hunt's family in Bushey, Hertfordshire
In January 2023 a damning report detailed how Met police had missed multiple chances to save Sana Muhammad, 35, who was eight months pregnant when then 51-year-old Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo burst into her home and fired an arrow into her stomach in November 2018.
Even just earlier this year Bryce Hodgson was killed by armed officers after he was caught trying to force his way into the three-storey home in South East London with a crossbow.
Following the Jaswant attack on the Queen, the then Home Secretary Priti Patel launched a review into crossbows, yet the consultation period was not started until February 2024.
The call for evidence closed in April 2024 and currently there has been no further progress towards changing the laws governing crossbows.
However since the Bushey murders Yvette Cooper has said she will look at the findings from that review.
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We keep legislation under constant review and a call for evidence was launched earlier this year to look at whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced. The home secretary will swiftly consider the findings to see if laws need to be tightened further.'
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