Policeman shot with crossbow as parking row ends in horror
A POLICE officer was shot with a crossbow after a man in his 60s was allegedly stabbed during a neighbourhood row over parking.
As officers rushed to the scene of the stabbing, a 54-year-old man reportedly fired a crossbow at them, hitting one in the leg.
An armed police officer shot him and he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was in hospital last night ‘in a stable condition with serious, potentially lifechanging injuries’, police said.
The man who was stabbed in the incident in Downley, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, on
‘I didn’t expect that it would escalate’
Friday evening was discharged yesterday, along with the injured officer who was in ‘good spirits’.
Police remained in the area yesterday, with forensic investigators taking photos of the scene and a cordon at the end of the street where the incident happened.
Describing the events of Friday, one neighbour said: ‘I saw armed police officers walking down the streets carrying big guns.
‘They shouted “everybody get back inside” because neighbours had come out of their houses to try to see what was going on. Then we heard two gunshots.’ Another resident said police were called to speak to the crossbow suspect earlier in the week after a noise complaint about him. There were also claims of damage to a fence.
Tensions boiled over when a visitor to the victim’s home parked his car across a space used by the suspect. The resident said: ‘There was a silver Lexus blocking the way to enter the parking space that I and [the suspect] use.
‘The Lexus belonged to a family member of the neighbour. But I didn’t expect it would escalate.’
Thames Valley Police has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the incident.
Assistant Chief Constable Tim Metcalfe, of the force, said: ‘It is very fortunate no one suffered life-threatening injuries.’
He added that officers had shown ‘incredible bravery’ by confronting the suspect.