Crossbow attack victim undergoes surgery

A woman has undergone surgery after suffering “life-threatening injuries” following an attack involving a crossbow and a firearm in Leeds.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East said it was investigating the incident, which happened on Otley Road, in the Headingley area, at about 14:47 BST on Saturday.

Two women, aged 19 and 31, and the suspected attacker, were injured and taken to hospital. The second woman was discharged earlier while the other, who is recovering from surgery, is in a stable condition, police has said.

A 38-year-old man, who officers said is “the key suspect”, remains in hospital in critical condition after a “self-inflicted injury”.

The incident occurred on Otley Road in Headingley while people were taking part in the popular Otley Run pub crawl.

Cordons around the scene on Otley Road were removed on Sunday evening.

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley said: “The investigation continues and officers are working at pace to establish the full facts and circumstances of Saturday’s incident.

“We are not currently seeking anyone else in connection with this matter, which has caused understandable concern. We believe it was an isolated incident.”

Alison Lowe, deputy mayor of West Yorkshire for policing and crime, said the man was being held under armed guard.

She said: “The suspect injured themselves and is now in hospital under police guard so the threat has been eliminated.”

Ms Lowe reassured the public and said there would be an increased police presence across Headingley in “the coming days and weeks”.

“This is a very, very rare incident and the police know that the public are very frightened, so there is a much bigger police presence.

“I would be scared if I had witnessed or been close to an incident of that magnitude.

“All I can say to those women and girls is that we’re here for you. We’re increasing those patrols.”

MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, Alex Sobel, said the incident raised concerns about the safety of the Otley run.

He said: “We need to look at the numbers and see what we can do to ensure safety on the Otley run.

“This is really serious and shocking and nobody foresaw that anything like this would happen, but we have had other issues, just because of the huge volume of people who come every Saturday and the growth in it.

“Because of this we’re going to have to look really deeply at how Otley run operates.”