BBC News, Yorkshire
BBCIt is a quiet Sunday morning and there are plenty of runners up and down Otley Road preparing for Leeds’ biggest running event, the Rob Burrow Marathon.
But the Otley Run is a different type of race.
A well-known pub crawl in an area of West Leeds, runners begin the 19-stop drinking route at Woodies and finish at Dry Dock in the city centre. Revellers often undertake the journey in fancy dress.
The three-mile-long main route in and out of the city centre is usually lively at the weekend, with two universities hosting thousands of students.
But on Saturday the liveliness took a much darker turn.
Three people were found injured on Otley Road and taken to hospital, including the suspected attacker. The 38-year-old man suffered a “self-inflicted injury” and two weapons – a crossbow and a firearm – were recovered from the scene.
The man has been arrested and is being held in custody while counter-terrorism police investigate the incident.
On Sunday afternoon the road remains closed while police carry out searches.
Rose, 69, who did not give her surname, has been a student at Leeds University twice – first in the 1970s and then again more recently in 2022.
She has lived in Headingley for the past six years and despite having never done the run herself, her adult children have taken part.
She said: “I’m quite cool with the Otley Run, I think it’s brilliant and I grew up as a student here so I get it and I’ve never had any negative issues with it, I think it’s fabulous.
“But I do know that a lot of local residents find it intimidating, and the police do have a walking presence.”
She said there had been an increased police presence at Saturday’s event.
“I thought ‘Why are there so many?’ I saw two police vans and two patrol cars in the time it took me to walk from the stadium, where I live, to here and back again,” said Rose.
“When it comes so close to home, it brings everything you read about on to your doorstep, but it wouldn’t affect me coming out and I don’t particularly feel scared but I am aware of the impact it may have on the future of the Otley Run.”
She said she believed Saturday’s event had brought “a huge amount” of money into the area which was “useful to the community”.
Student Flo Sillett, 19, has lived on Otley Road since September 2023.
News of the attack reached her while she was getting ready for a Saturday night in Headingley.
“My friend text me at the time right when we were going to go out, telling me not to go out, but everything had stopped by about 17:00,” she said.
She is not concerned for her own safety, and says the area is usually very safe.
“This is a very nice area. I’ll walk home at night, it’s fine, it’s nice around here,” said Ms Sillett.
“When something happens once, it doesn’t usually tend to happen again in the same area. But that might not be true.”
Alex White, who lives in the area, said the incident could have been “much worse” given the sizeable student population in Headingley.
“With it being the Otley Run there’s lots of students who drink and usually it’s quite a happy and silly time.
“I feel it could have been a really bad incident, so I’m very glad it wasn’t.
“It’s a really busy area on a Saturday so it’s quite scary that it happened. I hope everyone who was injured has a fast recovery and is okay.”
Leeds Vineyard Church meets every Sunday at Headingley Methodist Church’s building on Otley Road.
Welcoming churchgoers at the door is volunteer Kay, who also did not give her surname.
She said the congregation held special prayers for the victims and the community earlier.
“Before we started the service we prayed for Headingley, and what’s gone on, and for the police who are trying to deal with it, and for the people involved and for those who might be feeling anxious.
“Bad things happen but ultimately God’s in charge and we just want to be a reassurance for people, smiling rather than doom and gloom,” said Kay.
Travelling further south along Otley Road, the A660 route merges into Headingley Lane and then Woodhouse Lane before joining the city centre ring road.
On the evening of the attack, Chris had been walking past The Golden Beam pub on Headingley Lane when he saw a number of unmarked police vehicles heading towards the crossroads where the incident occurred.
“I thought oh good, we have some sort of semblance of a police force doing their job,” he said.
“I am reassured. I thought it was a rumour that was going around, I had no idea what was going on.”
Chris, who also did not want to give his full name, was at home – a five-minute walk from the scene – when the attack occurred.
He said he heard nothing because he was “happily cooking” while wearing headphones.
“I didn’t know until I went down there and saw it,” he said.
“I thought it was just drunk people on the Otley Run making stuff up, but no there was someone with a crossbow and an air rifle and there are three people in hospital now,” he said.
“I’ve done the Otley Run, it bothers me that people can just waltz into an area of young people and do something like that.”
