A survivor of a crossbow attack has said that it is “scary” that these weapons are still on the streets after a triple murder in Bushey, Hertfordshire on Tuesday evening.
Laura Sugden had to fight for her life after her next-door neighbour broke into her East Yorkshire home in 2018 before lying in wait to attack her and her partner.
Sugden, who was pregnant, was injured in the attack and managed to escape and call for help, but her partner Shane Glmer, 30, was killed.
Anthony Lawrence, 55, shot Shane in the arm and torso before firing on Sugden with a crossbow, lodging a bolt in her head.
Sugden managed to pull it out, but Lawrence – who later died of an overdose – stabbed her again with the bolt.
Part of the bolt is still lodged in her head six years later, but Sugden told GB News that she was having surgery next week to remove it due to infection risks.
“It’ll be the first surgery since the incident, the bolt has been left in my head.
“Mentally I haven’t been able to go through the procedure again and be in that hospital, I lost my partner in that hospital, but it’s causing me an infection.
“The effects of me having that surgery on me mentally will be severe.”
Sugden became a campaigner against crossbows being available in Britain without any licensing after the horrific murder of her partner.
Her campaign eventually succeeded and the Home Office opened a consultation to consider licensing restrictions for crossbows.
Reacting to the triple murder in Bushey last night, Sugden said: “Nothing makes me more angry than seeing things like this. I pray the government takes this seriously and licences these weapons.
The triple murders come after a spate of incidents involving crossbows this year
PA
She added: “More families are suffering.”
The victims of the triple murder in Bushey have been named as the family of BBC horse racing commentator John Hunt.
Kyle Clifford, from Enfield, north London, is wanted in connection with murders of three women who were found fatally injured in Bushey, Hertfordshire, just after 7pm on Tuesday.
GB News understands that Clifford, 26, was formerly a member of the Armed Forces.
He is understood to have served briefly in the army, possibly for just two years.
The Sun newspaper has reported that Clifford was a trooper – the equivalent to a private soldier – in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards after joining the army as a trainee in 2019.
The Metropolitan Police and the Hertfordshire Constabulary are now involved in a joint manhunt to locate Clifford.
The triple murders come after a spate of incidents involving crossbows this year.
The previous Conservative administration opened a consultation on crossbow ownership in February after a man was shot dead in East London in January after he entered the home of a woman while armed with a crossbow.
Sugden said: “I still haven’t had a response from them yet since the consultation closed in April, they’ve been busy with the election and there’s a new government ,but it’s still scary and it pulls on my heartstrings that more families are facing this.”
Sugden confirmed that she had made contact with the Home Office today seeking an update.
Current controls on the use of crossbows are specifically around age restrictions, whereas firearms are licensed, with the police and government agencies used to assess the suitability of someone possessing a firearm.
At the same time, it is illegal to hunt with a bow or crossbow in Britain, but broadhead bolts – used primarily for hunting big game around the world – are still available to purchase in Britain.
Sugden said: “In my view it does concern me that there are still bolts available for hunting when hunting is illegal.
“Bolts can be tampered with, but I want these weapons licensed. They are falling into the hands of criminals constantly. It’s absolute craziness.”
Other crossbow incidents this year include a 44-year-old woman being hit in the head with a crossbow bolt as she crossed the road in Shoreditch before a 20-year-old man was injured in the neck by the same weapon in east London.
In May, a police officer was hit by a crossbow bolt during an incident in High Wycombe.
Sugden said: “It’s scary to think that because these events are happening that this might push more action now, people can be losing their lives for years due to crossbows falling into the hands of wrong people.”
Source Agencies
