A HUGE manhunt for a potentially armed triple murder suspect is under way following the “utterly devastating” crossbow deaths of the wife and two daughters of a BBC racing commentator.
Police are searching for 26-year-old suspect Kyle Clifford after the wife and two daughters of BBC commentator John Hunt were killed in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Carol Hunt, 61, and two of the couple's three daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, are understood to have been discovered by John when he returned home from work on Tuesday evening.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, all three were pronounced dead at the scene after suffering injuries in a suspected crossbow attack.
Clifford is understood to have left the British Army in 2022 after a short period of service and is the brother of Bradley Clifford, who was convicted of murder six years ago after mowing down two teenagers on a moped with his car and beating one of them.
Soban Khan, an 18-year-old, died in the incident.
Armed police searched a home in Rendlesham Road, Enfield, on Wednesday morning as the hunt for Clifford continued.
Enfield Council said it had been advised by the police that there is “no perceived threat to the public so the guidance is to carry on as normal”.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson from Hertfordshire Police told reporters the murders are believed to be “targeted”.
The force also warned the public not to approach the suspect who “may be in possession of a crossbow”.
Addressing Clifford directly, Simpson said: “Kyle, if you are seeing or hearing this, please make contact with the police.”
Children at a primary school in Enfield have been kept indoors as police search for the triple murder suspect.
One neighbour described hearing screams from the suburban home where the three women died on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old, who works in the media and lives near the scene but asked not to be named, said “absolute chaos” then broke out as armed police put the road into lockdown.
She said: “It was between 6.30pm and 7pm last night and it literally just sounded like kids, somebody screaming, and then it was more shrill and I was like, ‘that’s definitely a woman screaming’, and within 15 minutes, it was absolute chaos.
“We had armed police running down, screaming ‘stay in your house’… they shut us off and basically put us into lockdown.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she is being kept fully updated about the inquiry into the “truly shocking” deaths.
A Home Office spokeswoman 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.”
