London — Police in England were searching on Wednesday for a 26-year-old man they suspect is armed with a crossbow in connection with a triple murder.
Hertfordshire Police said in a rack that officers were called to a home in Bushey, northwest London, at around 7 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern Time) on Tuesday where they found three women with serious injuries.
Three ambulances, along with other emergency services including the Hazardous Area Response Team and two air ambulances, were sent to the property but the three women, who were believed to be related, died at the scene, police said.
Officers were still searching for a man named Kyle Clifford on Wednesday, and issued a public appeal for anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact emergency services. Police advised people not to approach Clifford, as “he may still be carrying a weapon.”
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The attack was carried out with a crossbow, Hertfordshire Police Chief Constable Jon Simpson said on Wednesday, adding that other weapons may have been used.
Police did not say whether Clifford was known to the women, who were aged 25, 28 and 61, but they did say it was believed to be a targeted incident.
Simpson addressed Clifford live on television on Wednesday, saying: “Kyle, if you see or hear this, please get in touch” and urging him to call Britain's emergency number 999.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the most senior government official responsible for law enforcement, said in a after on social media that she was being kept “fully informed” about the case and urged anyone with information to contact police.
“The loss of three women's lives in Bushey last night is truly shocking. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed and with the community,” she said.
“We're very shocked,” local councillor Laurence Brass told CBS News affiliate BBC News. “We're not used to this in the area, it's a very typical leafy suburb of Bushey… and all of a sudden we hear there's been three murders. Last night a helicopter landed at the top of my road, police everywhere. So I'm worried for the residents, who I think are a bit traumatised by what's happening here.”
Crossbows are legal in the UK and no licence or registration is required to own one. However, it is illegal to carry a crossbow in public without a valid reason.
