On Tuesday morning, a man with a crossbow was shot dead by police in south London. Police said the incident occurred at around 5am after reports the individual was trying to force their way inside a property.
Following the incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said they were launching an investigation.
In a statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by this incident.
“I understand the local community will be concerned at the events that have taken place this morning. We will fully support the IOPC investigation into the full circumstances of what happened.”
The incident could trigger a review of crossbow ownership in the UK and whether existing laws should be tightened to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening in the future.
According to the law, an adult does not need a licence or registration to own a crossbow in the UK.
The House of Commons Library said: “The Crossbows Act 1987 makes it an offence for anyone under 18 to purchase or possess a crossbow and for anyone to sell a crossbow to people under 18. The police have powers to search people they believe to have unlawful possession of a crossbow.”
They added that it is illegal to hunt with crossbows under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and that the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act prohibited the carrying of offensive weapons such as crossbows in public “without lawful authority or reasonable excuse”.
According to the Crossbows Act 1987 a person guilty under section 1, the purchasing of or letting to someone under the age of 18, could be given six months in prison.
Other penalties relating to the sale, use, and hiring to under 18s of crossbows can be found the online version of the Crossbows Act here.
Should there be a review following the incident in London this morning, there could be a review of the crossbow laws in the UK. This wouldn’t be the first time changes to legislation had been called for.
In 2021, there were calls for tighter legislation following an inquest into the death of Shane Gilmer in 2018. A coroner called for a review of the 1987 act and Offensive Weapons Act 2019 to see if they could regulate “the sale and possession of these lethal weapons”.
Responding to a petition which called for tighter regulation of crossbows, the government claimed that existing regulation was suitable. They said incidents such as the one which resulted in the death of Mr Gilmer were “fortunately very rare”.
