Detectives hunting a man carrying a crossbow are keeping an “open mind” whether the suspect is linked to random shootings that terrorised an east London community earlier in the year.
Scotland Yard issued CCTV images of the man dressed all in black and brandishing the weapon after a man reported he was threatened in broad daylight as he walked in Tower Hamlets.
The “shaken” victim was walking down Alfred Street when he was approached by a stranger at around midday on October 21.
The suspect became aggressive, started shouting before threatening the victim with a crossbow and fleeing.
Detectives are keeping an “open mind” on links between the street altercation and two attacks just two miles away in Shoreditch.
In March, residents of a quiet east London square spoke to The Independent about living in fear after a 20-year-old man and a mother-of-two were injured in two random crossbow attacks just 10 days apart.
The 44-year-old woman, named locally as Nazarine Cazley, was shot in the head yards from her family home in Shoreditch as she travelled home from work at 7.44pm on 4 March.
Her husband, frustrated at police inaction, put up posters alerting neighbours to the random attack.
Ten days later, a 20-year-old man was shot in the neck by a crossbow bolt shortly before 7.30pm as he sat on a bench near Arnold Circus, around 60 metres from the scene of the first attack outside Clifton House.
Neighbours said they were scared to take children to school with many avoiding windows and rushing through the tree lined square as quickly as possible.
Mother-of-two Subera Rabby told The Independent how she rushed to help Nazarine after hearing her scream.
She said: “The ambulance crew were asking me to hold down the wound but I couldn’t, there was an arrow stuck in there. She kept [trying] to dislodge it.
“She said she was trying to pull it out but the more she tried the more it hurt. She ran home screaming ‘somebody shot me’.”
Ms Rabby also claimed there was a “really bad” lack of communication from police, saying: “We thought we were going crazy. That gap was terrifying - the first week everyone was watching over the shoulder, looking at windows it could have come from.
“Now I drop my kids off a 10-minute detour to school that used to take me a minute to get to. You can’t carry on living like that.”
On the CCTV pictures issued on Friday DI Nikki Hardy said: “Thankfully the victim in this case suffered no injuries but was understandably shaken by what happened.
“We are now releasing an image of a man we wish to speak to in connection with this incident. We would urge everyone to look at the photo and think about whether they recognise him or know where he may be.
“Anyone with information should contact us on 101 with reference 245/31OCT number.”
Information can also be provided completely anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
