Family of BBC commentator killed in suspected crossbow attack near London

British police were searching for a man suspected of being armed with a crossbow on Wednesday after three women were killed in a house northwest of London. The BBC said the women killed were the family of leading radio racing commentator John Hunt.

Hertfordshire Police said 26-year-old Kyle Clifford was wanted over the suspected triple murder, which may have involved a crossbow and other weapons.

“The manhunt also involves armed police and specialist search teams who are responding urgently to this horrific incident,” said Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson.

The three women, aged 25, 28 and 61, were found seriously injured in a house in Bushey, north-west London, on Tuesday evening, police said. Police and emergency services tried to save them, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

BBC Radio 5 Live, the corporation’s main news and sports channel, said the victims were Carol Hunt, the wife of commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters.

John Hunt is BBC radio’s main horse racing commentator. Millions of people know his voice from his coverage of the world-famous Grand National and The Derby. British media report that he found the bodies early on Tuesday evening when he returned home from a report at Lingfield Park racecourse, south of London.

In a statement to BBC staff, the broadcaster described the incident as “utterly devastating” and said it would “support Hunt with all its might”.

Clifford, who is from London, did not say whether he was in contact with the women, but British media reported that he was the ex-boyfriend of one of the daughters.

Nearby councillor Laurence Brass said the area was “a typical green British suburb”.

“Last night at around eight o’clock I was watching football on TV when suddenly a helicopter landed on the lawn outside my flat at the end of this road. Then my phone rang and I was told that there had been a serious incident here in Bushey and that we should all stay away because someone was apparently on the run,” he told the BBC.

Simpson addressed the suspect directly and said, “Kyle, if you see or hear this, please contact the police.”

Britain’s new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she would be “fully informed” of the “truly shocking” incident.

In the UK, no license is required to own a crossbow. However, it is illegal to carry a crossbow in public without a valid reason.