Revealed: Crossbow attack suspect posted sickening ‘manifesto’ online - as he’s pictured for the first time

29 April 2025, 14:24 | Updated: 29 April 2025, 15:02

The man believed to have carried out a brutal crossbow attack which left two women in hospital sent out a chilling Facebook post on the day of the incident outlining the details of his "spree killing" - and posted pictures of the weapons he would use.

Owen Lawrence died on Tuesday after he was arrested and taken for treatment with a self-inflicted injury following an attack on the popular Otley Run pub crawl in Headingley on Saturday.

Two women, aged 19 and 31, were taken to hospital for treatment following the incident, with one later being discharged.

In the wake of Lawrence's death, shocking posts from the 38-year-old's Facebook account have emerged in which he discussed the "information" for a "mass murdering", hours before the "Otely Run Massacre" took place.

Writing on his social media page, he brazenly said he would target "students, night club goers and pub crawlers" in a onslaught which he labelled as "terrorism", "revenge" and "misogynistic rage".

Elsewhere in this detailed attack manual, he boasted about and photographed the weapons he would use for the assault - which included the crossbow, a range of guns with "modified ammo" and an "unbreakable" baseball bat.

A picture of Lawrence holding this bat whilst smiling had also previously been published onto his Facebook page, which has since been removed by the site's parent company Meta,

He also said he was 'inspired' by Brenton Tarrant who killed 51 people in a gun attack on two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand in 2019, which he streamed on Facebook Live.

Lawrence said he had "explored right wing ideas" when discussing his "political views" in the post, adding that they were: "Reactionary, with some small "I" libertarian sympathies."

Reactionary politics is a far-right theory that seeks to roll back social advancements.

When outlining the "targets", he wrote: "Students, Night Club goers, Pub Crawler's, Otley Run Participants, Society, Humanity, Human race, Neurotypical's."

Police officers would also be attacked "if I needed to", the post read.

Lawrence stated the location for his attack was to be 'Otley Road, Leeds England, Headingley, [sic] LS6' and he gave his name as 'Owen 'Oz' Lawrence' adding: 'ethnicity/nationality: white British; religious views: agnostic.'

The weapons he listed were a crossbow and a break barrel air gun, along with a Sig Sauer Rattler CO2 Gun and a Powerline Daiay 415 steel 'BB' ball bearing gun, and a 'blank firer' with modified ammunition.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East is leading the investigation into the attack and have been approached for a comment.

The force had previously said they believed Lawrence had been acting on his own and were not currently seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.

It added that two weapons had been recovered from the scene - crossbow and a firearm.

Following Lawrence's death, the force said officers were continuing to "conduct a thorough and extensive investigation to establish the facts and circumstances around the incident".

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley said: “Officers will continue to conduct enquiries and we ask that if anyone has information that may assist, to pass this to police.

"We understand there are concerns around the incident, and questions about how and why this has happened. Our teams are committed to carrying out an in-depth investigation to provide answers to those affected.

"We continue to work closely with West Yorkshire Police to support the local community and thank residents for their support and understanding over the weekend.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this incident.”