He posted selfies making a Nazi salute, openly idolised school shooters and claimed feminism was a ‘cancer‘ in a string of misogynistic and disturbing posts over five years.
Analysis shows that crossbow attacker Owen ‘Oz’ Lawrence was openly sharing his warped worldview long before he carried out his bid for a crossbow ‘massacre’ on the streets of Leeds.
But Lawrence, 39, seemingly went undetected by either authorities or social media companies as he formulated his plans for a spree killing.
Last Saturday Lawrence left his home, armed with a crossbow and firearm, before heading to the Otley Road – a known hub in the city for students and partygoers taking part in the famous Otley Run pub crawl.
At just before 3pm that day police were called to the scene after receiving frantic calls from members of the public that two women, aged 19 and 31, had been shot. Lawrence then turned the weapon upon himself.
Fortunately, the two women survived, with one remaining in hospital in a stable condition while the other was discharged, but Lawrence succumbed to his injuries two days later.
The terrifying incident appears not to have been carried out randomly but as part of a pre-meditated attack.
Just hours before Lawrence made the three minute walk from his flat to the Otley Road, he published a Facebook manifesto dubbed ‘The Otley Run Massacre’.
Crossbow attacker Owen Lawrence, seen here performing a Nazi salute, openly shared his warped worldview on social media long before trying to commit a crossbow massacre in Leeds
Lawrence, 39, seemingly went undetected by either authorities or social media companies as he formulated his plans for a spree killing
Last Saturday Lawrence, seen here with a baseball bat, left his home, armed with a crossbow and firearm, intent on targeting students and partygoers taking part in the Otley Run pub crawl
Under a post titled ‘attack information’, Lawrence listed his ‘targets’, which included ‘students, night club goers, Otley Run participants’, as well as ‘neurotypicals, and the police’.
He went on to list what category the attack would fall under: ‘Mass murder, terrorism, revenge, misogynyic [sic] rage, homicide/suicide.’
Lawrence said in the post he would be using a range of weapons including four different types of guns, a crossbow, an ‘unbreakable’ baseball bat and two lollipop shanks.
Disturbingly, though, the post, which has since been widely shared, was by no means the first sign of violence that Lawrence had shown on his social media.
In fact, for more than five years, across Facebook, TikTok and even Pinterest Lawrence had been showing worrying signs of someone deeply embedded in ‘incel’ culture and expressed far-right sentiments.
One dated from May 2022 read: ‘I just want to go on the record and say that feminism is a cancer.’
And earlier this year he listed what he ‘hates’ or doesn’t ‘like’. His dislikes included ‘gender inequality’,’feminists of all four faves’, ‘feminoids’ and ‘female empowerment’.
He also included people in bisexual relationships, Islamic extremists, ‘normies’, ‘dumb people’, ‘fat people’ as well as popular shows such as Hollyoaks, XFactor and Pop Idol.
Lawrence showed worrying signs of someone deeply embedded in ‘incel’ culture in his social media posts, frequently expressing far-right sentiments
Lawrence used social media post to express his admiration for murderers like Randy Stair, who shot three co-workers in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, in 2017
In other posts he idolised school shooters and mass murderers, including showing a particular interest for Anders Behring Breivik – a white supremacist who carried out a terror attack killing 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Early last year, Lawrence listed Breivik under his ‘tributes to maytrys’ list on Pintrest a year ago.
Police also believe that his reference to ‘terrorism, revenge and misogynistic rage’ was a reference to the 2019 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand.
In April 2024 he shared images of Payton Gendron – the perpetrator behind the Buffalo shooting in 2022 that killed 10 black people – and expressed sympathy for Seung-Hui Cho, the man behind the Virgina Tech shooting in 2007 which killed 32 people.
Lawrence wrote sharing a picture of Cho that ‘not all mass shooters are evil’ and that he ‘couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him’.
And on his Facebook profile, which has since been taken down, Lawrence is seen posing with a baseball bat wearing a t-shirt that says ‘Natural Selection’ – similar to the one worn by one of the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine shooting, which killed 16.
In other posts, Lawrence used Crusade imagery, often writing ‘Deus Vault’. The Latin phrase for ‘God wills it’ has more recently been taken on by Far-Right groups.
However, Lawrence, who appears to have no singular ideology, said in February he does not identify with the far-right but had ‘flirted with their ideas a bit’.
The incident shines a dark light on how potentially harmful individuals can go undetected, despite the mammoth efforts of counter terrorism police to keep such incidents under control.
Lawrence’s neighbour told MailOnline he was shocked by the attack as he said Lawrence was ‘like a zombie’ and said he lacked ‘mental capacity’.
The neighbour said: ‘He did have a lot of people coming to visit him. His mother came and cleaned for him.
‘But a lot of the visitors were undesirable people. They used to sleep under the stairs [in the flat block] until I had the local authorities board it up.’
‘I am sad about him, I am sad about his family and the people he shot,’ he added. ‘Hopefully it’s all over now.
‘It was like something out of CSI with all the police here. They had all the gear on because they thought it was some terrorist thing.’
Another neighbour told The Times that Lawrence, who was unemployed and had mental health issues, had previously been accused of stalking his ex-financee.
‘He might have a thing against girls,’ the neighbour said.
Video footage showed Lawrence walking down the Otley road appearing to walk down the road carrying the crossbow on his back.
But for many students and employees working in the area, they believed he was a reveller in fancy dress taking part in the famous bar crawl.
One waitress from Zaab Thai, which saw the incident unfold, said: ‘People thought he was on the Otley Run and in fancy dress so that’s why he was blending in really easily and nobody really noticed. It was really scary.’
Gregory Dritschel, 25, added: ‘I have done the Otley Run myself but not for a year or two. But when I saw the police my first thought was it something to do with the Otley Run.
‘It is a crowded run and an obvious target. There were quite a few people dressed as the Pope.’
On Tuesday, police confirmed that Lawrence had died from a self-inflicted injury.
Counter Terorism Police are continuing to investigate the case following Lawrence’s death with his electronic devices as well as his mental health being probed.
It comes as the force has continued to ramp up its work to tackle those young men looking at extreme violence online as well as those with no clear ideology.
In an update following Lawrence’s death on Tuesday, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, said: ‘The investigation continues and officers are working at pace to establish the full facts and circumstances of Saturday’s incident.
‘We are not currently seeking anyone else in connection with this matter, which has caused understandable concern. We believe it was an isolated incident.
‘We are grateful for the support and understanding of the local community as we progress the investigation.
‘Counter Terrorism Policing North East continue to work closely with our colleagues at West Yorkshire Police to reassure all those affected and keep them informed.’
Assistant Chief Constable Carl Galvin of West Yorkshire Police, added: ‘We continue to work closely with our colleagues at Counter Terrorism Policing North East as the investigation into yesterday’s very serious incident on Otley Road continues.
‘A number of police scenes remained in place throughout today and uniformed officers remain highly visible in communities to reassure residents, partners and business owners in the affected area.
‘We are aware of the disruption the very necessary police enquiries at our scenes has caused and want to thank residents for their understanding.’
The Home Office, Facebook and TikTok have been contacted for comment.
Counter terrorism police confirmed that Lawrence was not known to Prevent or subject to a Prevent referral.
Enquiries remain ongoing.
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley said: ‘Officers will continue to conduct enquiries and we ask that if anyone has information that may assist, to pass this to police.
‘We understand there are concerns around the incident, and questions about how and why this has happened. Our teams are committed to carrying out an in-depth investigation to provide answers to those affected.
‘We continue to work closely with West Yorkshire Police to support the local community and thank residents for their support and understanding over the weekend.
‘Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this incident.’
Leeds District Commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds said: ‘We fully appreciate the understandable shock and concern that this incident has caused in the Headingley community, and we are continuing to work closely alongside our partner agencies to support and reassure those living, working or studying in, or visiting the area.
‘We have put a comprehensive visibility and engagement plan in place in the area to provide an increased police and partnership presence that will remain over the coming days, both on the streets and around key events in the community.
‘We are absolutely committed to making sure that people feel safe to go about their daily lives in the area following this incident.
‘As ever, we would advise people to report any suspicious or unusual behaviour to us immediately through 101 or 999 in an emergency, or to officers on the ground, or venue or event staff.’
As the investigation is ongoing, the Home Office said it cannot comment at this time.
