A £1,000 reward has been offered for the name of the person thought to have shot at a Leeds train with an air gun last week.
Northern is offering the reward for information that leads to the arrest of the culprit after windows of one of their trains were shown cracked last week, with passengers reporting it had been shot by an 'air rifle'. The rush hour train was headed from Leeds station to Bradford Forster Square when passengers reported hearing 'loud cracks' near Kirkstall Forge station just before 5.30pm on Monday, May 22.
Tony Baxter, regional director for Northern, said: “It’s very fortunate that no-one was injured. It beggars belief that anyone thinks it’s ‘fun’ to target a train in this way.
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"Anything involving shattered glass whilst trains are travelling at high speed can be very dangerous. We hope this reward will encourage anyone who knows the perpetrator of this attack to come forward with information for British Transport Police.”
Several services were delayed or cancelled on May 22 after the incident. Northern said that over the last year, 69 of its services have been struck by objects, including bricks and rocks throw from bridges or embankments, and more substantial items placed on tracks for trains to collide with, including shopping trollies, pushchairs and bikes.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said on the day of the incident: "British Transport Police were called to the line near Kirkstall Forge station at 5.26pm on 22 May following reports that a train had been hit by air gun pellets, causing a window to crack.
“Officers attended and conducted a thorough search of the area, however no one was located. No passengers or rail staff were injured and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”
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Northern has installed 7,000 CCTV cameras on its trains, which British Transport Police can watch in real time. Northern are asking anyone with information to get in touch with police by texting 61016, or by calling 0800405040.
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