Man detained after BBC commentator's wife, 2 daughters killed in crossbow attack in U.K.

London — Police in England detained a 26-year-old man Wednesday after an hours-long manhunt following the murder of three women with a crossbow. CBS News' partner network BBC News said the victims were the wife and two adult daughters of John Hunt, a commentator on the network's horse racing radio channel, BBC Racing. 

The Hertfordshire Police force said in a statement that officers were called to a property in Bushey, northwest of London, just before 7 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern) on Tuesday, where they found three women with serious injuries. Ambulances and other emergency response vehicles were sent to the property, but all three of the women died at the scene, the police said.

The BBC reported at about 6:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. Eastern) that the subject of the manhunt, Kyle Clifford, had been found by officers in Enfield, in north London, where he lived. He was taken into custody with unspecified injuries and was receiving medical treatment. The police said no shots were fired during the apprehension, according to the BBC.

The network cited Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins as saying the investigation was "moving at pace" and that nobody else was being sought in connection with the crime.

The police had earlier issued an appeal for information on Clifford's whereabouts, but advised people not to approach him as "he may still be in possession of a weapon."

The attack at the Hunts' home was carried out with a crossbow, Hertfordshire Police Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson said earlier on Wednesday, adding that other weapons may also have been used.

The police have not confirmed whether Clifford was known to the Hunt family, but they said it appeared to have been a targeted attack. The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, and two of the couple's daughters, who were 25 and 28 years old.

John Hunt, a former police officer who has worked for the BBC for years, came home to find his wife and daughters seriously wounded after the attack on Tuesday evening, according to British media.

Speaking on television, Simpson appealed directly to Clifford earlier Wednesday, saying: "Kyle, if you are seeing or hearing this, please make contact," and urging him to call the U.K. emergency services number 999.

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the top government official in charge of law enforcement, said in a post on social media that she was being kept "fully updated" on the case, and she urged anyone with information to contact the police.

"The loss of three women's lives in Bushey last night is truly shocking. My thoughts are with the family & friends of those who have been killed & with the community," she said.

"We're very shocked," local city councilor Laurence Brass told CBS News partner network BBC News that. "We're not used to this in this area, it's a very typical, leafy Bushey suburb… and suddenly we're told there are three murders. We had a helicopter landing at the top of my road last night, police all over the place. So, I'm concerned for residents, who I think are a little bit traumatized by what's going on here."

Crossbows are legal in the U.K. and no license or registration is required to own one, though it is illegal to carry a crossbow in public without a reasonable excuse.

In:
• Murder
• United Kingdom