Leeds crossbow suspect wrote attack plans on Facebook hours before

The suspect in the Leeds crossbow attack, that critically injured two women, has died of a self-inflicted wound, following being taken to hospital.

Owen Lawrence, 38, attacked two women with a crossbow and a firearm, aged 19 and 31, on the Otley Run pub crawl in Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday. The Otley Run is a famous 19-stop drinking route across three miles into Leeds city centre.

Police were called to Otley Road just after 14:45 BST following reports of a man seen with weapons.

Both victims are alive, with the younger woman stable after undergoing threatening surgery, and the older woman has been discharged.

A crossbow and a firearm were recovered from the scene.

Hours before the assault, Lawrence posted his motivations on Facebook in a vitriolic manifesto. He gave the attack information, his targets (“Students, Night Club Goers, Pub Crawler’s [sic], Otley Run Participants, Society, Humanity, Human Race, Neurotypicals and Police”), mentioned weapons including a crossbow, described the planned attack as “Spree Killing, Mass Murder, Terrorism, Revenge, Misogynyic [sic] Rage, Homicide/Suicide”, and confessed to have read the manifesto written by the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch shootings at a mosque and Islamic centre.

In a separate Facebook post, from January 2025, he gave a list of his dislikes, including: “gender equality”, “feminists of all four waves”, “female empowerment and “feminoids”.