imstilla.grandma
Believer of Miracles
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Crossbow victim’s boyfriend says she was ‘stolen from me too soon’
Beautician Hannah Hunt, 28, was killed alongside her mother Carol and sister Louise
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Stikes me that killing yourself with your own crossbow is no easy thing. It's an unwieldy looking weapon, the trigger is in the wrong place if you're pointing it at yourself, and, unlike a shotgun cartridge, the projectile doesn't spread out, so you would need to be very accurate to hit something vital enough to kill yourself instantly.Regarding the practicality of shooting himself with the crossbow; I spent some years in an archery club growing up, and did interact with crossbows as well as bows. Some styles of crossbow have a sort of lever to discharge them rather than a trigger; it would be very possible to easily fire it at yourself in that instance. And only slightly more difficult if it was a standard gun-style trigger. Once the bolt is loaded, it doesn't take much for them to discharge.
This image below is a very old crossbow but you can see the lever system I mean, that is replicated on some newer ones too. Even the trigger style one below would be very easy to shoot at yourself if you wanted to.
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I agree with the other commenters that perhaps he was on the run, and then as LE closed in he tried to take the 'easy' way out, but was apprehended in the process/before the wounds caused fatality.
Oh I completely agree with you - I was just making the point that it is very easy to shoot yourself and seriously injure yourself with a crossbow - but to actually effectively kill yourself instantly with a single crossbow bolt is an entirely different matter.Stikes me that killing yourself with your own crossbow is no easy thing. It's an unwieldy looking weapon, the trigger is in the wrong place if you're pointing it at yourself, and, unlike a shotgun cartridge, the projectile doesn't spread out, so you would need to be very accurate to hit something vital enough to kill yourself instantly.
It wouldn't suprise me if all he's managed to do is pin himself to a tree.
Oh I completely agree with you - I was just making the point that it is very easy to shoot yourself and seriously injure yourself with a crossbow - but to actually effectively kill yourself instantly with a single crossbow bolt is an entirely different matter.
Yep - carefully planned. I assume the screams meant he could not take the time to disassemble the bow and had to get out with a cover on it.A figure dressed in black was seen arriving at the quiet cul-de-sac after midday on Tuesday parking up at the rear of the property close by an alleyway leading to the four bedroom house.
Neighbours who captured the suspect's movements on doorbell cameras said he was initially seen carrying just a dark bag, with no crossbow in sight, likely in order to take his victims by surprise.
The revelation suggests that the killer may have taken the time to assemble the weapon at the scene after subduing his victims who are said to have been tied up and gagged in an extraordinary pre-planned attack.
Crossbow maniac held women for HOURS as he executed them, police fear
My heart breaks for John & His other daughter how can they even come to terms with this - the torture they must’ve gone through is unimaginable.A figure dressed in black was seen arriving at the quiet cul-de-sac after midday on Tuesday parking up at the rear of the property close by an alleyway leading to the four bedroom house.
Neighbours who captured the suspect's movements on doorbell cameras said he was initially seen carrying just a dark bag, with no crossbow in sight, likely in order to take his victims by surprise.
The revelation suggests that the killer may have taken the time to assemble the weapon at the scene after subduing his victims who are said to have been tied up and gagged in an extraordinary pre-planned attack.
Crossbow maniac held women for HOURS as he executed them, police fear
Or maybe after he entered the house, subdued them, and tied them up, he then went back to his car and fetched the crossbow?A figure dressed in black was seen arriving at the quiet cul-de-sac after midday on Tuesday parking up at the rear of the property close by an alleyway leading to the four bedroom house.
Neighbours who captured the suspect's movements on doorbell cameras said he was initially seen carrying just a dark bag, with no crossbow in sight, likely in order to take his victims by surprise.
The revelation suggests that the killer may have taken the time to assemble the weapon at the scene after subduing his victims who are said to have been tied up and gagged in an extraordinary pre-planned attack.
Crossbow maniac held women for HOURS as he executed them, police fear
He must have known that he wouldn't "get away with it" though, since they were all still alive when he left. And apparently able to raise the alarm, dial 999, call for help. I have to wonder why he didn't make sure they were all dead before leaving.I don't think it was planned to be a murder-suicide, I think he wanted to get away with it for as long as he could. If this was his plan then he would have taken his life at the scene rather than fled and gone on the run. The suicide part has only come into play once he was about to be caught and if he had really planned all along to end his life he probably would have used a more practical suicide method than the crossbow. I think that was a moment of panic. The execution-style murders he is accused of however, were very chillingly premeditated.
MOO
They are a pretty impractical weapon for most crimes. They take time/effort to draw, they ain't easy to conceal or aim and you get one shot with most models.I'm surprised no one got around to licencing cross bows in the UK
Seeing as the police don't even routinely carry guns
They are controlled in lots of other places
I don't know of any historical crossbow massacres in Australia but they are controlled here by our various weapons legislation
I think crossbows are to a bow and arrow a bit like how a semi automatic rifle with a sight is to a musket rifle or perhaps a shot gun
Crossbows just don't require the skill or training or conditioning to use effectively the way older forms of archery do
They've updated the article with this -Or maybe after he entered the house, subdued them, and tied them up, he then went back to his car and fetched the crossbow?