Man suspected of misogynistic ‘massacre’ attempt in Leeds dies

A man suspected of attacking two women in the Headingley area of Leeds on Saturday afternoon during an attempted misogynistic “massacre” has died overnight, counter-terrorism police have confirmed. Owen Lawrence, 38, is believed to shot the women, aged 19 and 31, with a crossbow before turning the weapon on himself at the scene on Otley Road, a popular pub crawl route. Both women, one with life threatening injuries, were taken to hospital.

One woman has been discharged, while the other remains in a stable condition, police said. A statement from counter-terrorism police’s north-east command said: “We can confirm that the 38-year-old man who was arrested and taken to hospital on Saturday with a self-inflicted injury, has died. “This man was the key suspect and we can name him as Owen Lawrence from Headingley, Leeds.



“We believe he was acting on his own and are not currently seeking anyone else in connection with this matter. “Counter-terrorism policing north east will continue to conduct a thorough and extensive investigation to establish the facts and circumstances around the incident. A file will be compiled and passed to the coroner.

” Counter-terror police were called in after Facebook posts emerged that appeared to have been made by Lawrence in the lead-up to the attack, which indicated that he had hoped to carry out a misogynistic killing spree. In a manifesto-like post, the attacker listed his motivations, beginning with “gender equality” and including soap operas, specifically Hollyoaks, “feminists of all four waves”, “feminoids” and the reality talent show Pop Idol, which ran from 2001 to 2003. In another post, he said he had “explored far-right ideas”.

.