Someone fired a crossbow arrow into a cricket pitch, forcing 1,000 people to evacuate
A tranquil County Championship cricket game between Surrey and Middlesex at The Oval, London was alarmingly interrupted when an arrow casually landed on the field, sparking a mass evacuation.
If it sounds extraordinary, that's because it is. “It could very easily have killed someone” said Surrey chief executive Richard Gould.
A quick inspection of the arrow in question should dispel any doubts over just how dangerous the incident was:
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Yep, that's a metal tipped arrow, around 18-inches long, that someone armed with a crossbow bolt fired from outside the pitch.
Look closer:
According to BBC Test Match Special commentator Dan Norcross, the bolt landed between two players, around 10m from the strip. The game was immediately suspended and armed police carried out a "controlled evacuation" of the ground. Players quickly left the field, and everyone was told to take over inside the grounds.
Met Police said the incident "is not being treated as terrorism-related". "There have been no arrests. We retain an open mind as to motive," they said.
One of the commentators originally believed it was a meteor, ABC reported. "What is that in the field of play? They've just pointed at something. It's poking up out of the ground. Some sort of — I don't know what it is, a meteor or something. What on Earth is that?"
It's still unclear where the arrow came from. "It is pure speculation where it came from because it is a very dense area around the ground," said Richard Gould.
"We are investigating reports that there was a noise on the roof of the OCS Stand but we haven't been able to get up there to see whether it was the projectile ricocheting off the roof or a separate projectile. We may never find out if it was a deliberate act, but in these heightened times these sorts of acts are wholly irresponsible," Gould continued.
No injuries were reported and no arrests had been made by Thursday evening.
