This U.K. woman survived a crossbow bolt to the head. She says the weapon should be regulated like a gun

Six years after a ghastly attack with a crossbow,Laura Sugden of East Yorkshire, U.K., will be back in hospital next week to have part of a bolt removed from her skull.

The tip of the projectile has been lodged deep in her headsince 2018, when she was shot at close range by a neighbour with a grudge. The assailant had broken into her property and ambushed Sugden and her partner as they entered the home.

While Sugden, now 33, barely survived the encounter,Shane Gilmer,who was 30,was killed afteracrossbow bolt pierced his body,passing through vital organs before lodging in his arm.

Sugden says he clung to life for more than three agonizing hours, before succumbing to his injuries.

"The bolts on them [crossbows] and the effects of being shot are catastrophic," Sugden told CBC News.

Sugden was 20 weeks pregnant with the couple's child at the time, and yet,miraculously, was able to pull the top part of the bolt out of her head. But theloss of her partner altered the trajectory of her life.

"Prior to that night, I didn't actually know what a crossbow was," she said. "I was absolutely alarmed to see that there isn't actually any licensing. It gave me something to fight for."

WATCH |British police arrest suspect in crossbow killings of BBC commentator's family:

British police arrest suspect in crossbow killings of BBC commentators family

3 months ago

Duration 2:02

British police have arrested a suspect in the killing of three women with a crossbow, north of London. The victims were the wife and daughters of BBC horse racing commentator John Hunt.

Sugden has been leading a U.K. campaign to have crossbows treated the same as firearms, with licences and strict rules for who can buy and use them.

The U.K. government had begun a review process and issued a public call for submissions in February with an eye to revamping the rules, but is promising an expedited decision on potentially tougher regulations afteranother horrific crossbow-related tragedy on Tuesday.

Carol Hunt,61,and her two daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were found bleeding to death in their home in Bushey, north of London, after being shot by a man with a crossbow.

Preventing future deaths

The women were reportedly discovered by their father, John who's also Carol's husband when he returned home from work. John Hunt is a well-known BBC personality who does commentary for horse racing broadcasts.

Despite the efforts of first responders,the three women died at the scene.

The alleged perpetrator,Kyle Clifford,had reportedly been in a relationship with Louise that had ended badly a few weeks earlier.

Sugden says the similarities to her case a man with a crossbow using it to take revenge on women has left her sickened.

"If we just put some legislation in place[for crossbows] to be brought in line with shotguns ...maybe there's a chance it could prevent future deaths," said Sugden.

Right now, crossbows are not considered restricted weapons in the U.K. and can be bought by anyone over 18.

On the British Amazon website, crossbows of multiple sizes and ranges can be home delivered without the need for background or criminal record checks. Some of the manufacturers emphasize their "sharp" and "high impact" metal arrows.

Fatal attacks

This week, British media quoted government officialsclaiming there have been 10 fatal attacks involving crossbows in the U.K. over the past decade.

As part of a 2021 coroner's inquest into Shane Gilmer's death,the legal teamworking with the families compiled their own list of almost 100 incidents in the previous two decades where crossbows had been used in crimes.

Such attacks often makenews. In one of the more notorious incidents,a 21-year-old man wielding a crossbow was sentenced to nine years in jail for attempting to break into Windsor Castle on Christmas Day in 2021,claiming he wanted to assassinate the Queen.

In another caseearlier this year,a man was arrested after shooting two people in east London with a crossbow.

The rules for obtaining and using crossbows in Canadian provinces is similar to those in the U.K.,with the age minimumof 18 the only barrier in most places to purchasing such weapons.

The RCMP's websitesays only smaller crossbows that can be used with a single hand similarly to a pistol are prohibited.

Statistics Canada said it couldn't provide CBC News with a breakdown of how many people in Canada were attacked or killed with crossbows, as it categorizes themwith other pointed weapons, such as knives.

Government considers tightening laws

In the aftermath of this week's triple killing, a spokesman for the U.K.'s newly appointed Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the minister is following the debate closely.

In astatement.the department said it had already been looking at the evidence for tougher regulations before Tuesday's attack. "The Home Secretary will swiftly consider the findings to see if laws need to be tightened further."

One British expert said the new Labour government might heed the latest calls for tougher crossbow regulations as an opportunity to bolster its public security credentials.

"We often pride ourselves on having the toughest gun control laws in the developed world, except for maybe Japan.But there are still whole areas where I think tighter control,more surveillance, better background checking would improve things," said Peter Squires, a professor of criminology at the University of Brighton.

Squires's field of study is gun control policy and he's written extensively on use of force issues involving British police. He said treating the sale of crossbows with the same diligence as firearms makes sense.

To get a gun, "you have to get a licence first,you have to get references,you have to get your doctor to certify yourself that you are sane,you may need consent from a partner who you live with and you need to go through a criminal record check," said Squires. "And after all of that, you get a visit from the ... firearmslicensing departmentwho will check out your home and cabinet where you will keep the weapon and only then can you go ahead and buy one."

'It's just unthinkable'

While archery and crossbow clubs exist across the U.K., where game hunting is a popular pastime, CBC News could find no examples of such groups intervening in the licensing debate.

"I don't know if there is any kind of lobby group that is pro-crossbows,in the way there is a gun lobby of sorts," Squires said.

Restricting the availability of a weapon, however, doesn't mean it can't still be used to kill.Squires says on average abouthalf of the domestic abuse homicidesin the U.K. involvefirearms and usually that'sa gun that was purchased legally.

Laura Sugden believes there is momentum for restrictions on crossbows, but her own experiencecontinues to give her nightmares.

Ambulance crews responding to Gilmer and Sugen'sshooting in 2018 were prevented from entering the couple's home for 45 minutes after the shooting.During that time, Shaneleft dying messages for his loved ones with the emergency officials on the other end of the phone.

Sugden says his last words of love still haunt her.

"To hear the distress and pain that he was in ... you know, it's just unthinkable. I was in extreme pain myself," she said.

"But to have ... a crossbow bolt, you know, piercing straight through your body and your organs ... must have just been horrific."