No, U.K. murder suspect Kyle Clifford was not shot dead by police

Context

On July 10, 2024, police launched a manhunt for 26-year-old Kyle Clifford, who allegedly shot Carol Hunt and her two daughters, Hannah and Louise, using a crossbow. The three women were found critically injured in their Hertfordshire home and subsequently died.

The incident quickly trended on social media. A Facebook user posted a video (archived here) of police officers running along a street into what appears to be a cemetery.

The caption of the post identifies the location as Hilly Fields Park in London. The caption continues, “Reports indicate that he was found in the graveyard by Hilly Fields Park and has been shot dead.” 

A second post on Facebook (archived here) also used the same video and indicated that Clifford had been shot dead. 

“Kyle Clifford allegedly has been shot dead by armed police in the grave yard by hilly fields park @lbcnews…Hood justice he is a very lucky man,” the caption says. The post continues to go viral on Facebook, and no corrections have been made since then.

At the time these posts first appeared, this was a developing story with details still emerging. However, subsequent reports and details confirm that Clifford was not shot by police and is currently alive in hospital.

What we found 

The footage was first posted by LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch on her X (formerly Twitter) account on July 10. The footage shows dozens of paramedics and armed police officers rushing into a cemetery where it was believed Clifford was located. At the time, few details were reported alongside the footage, but none indicated that Clifford had been shot dead by police.

A Sky News report on July 11 included footage of Clifford being taken out of a cemetery in north London on a stretcher. The Metropolitan Police said that he had been found injured, and no shots were fired by either police or Clifford. They confirmed he was receiving medical treatment.

The Guardian reported on the same day that 26-year-old Clifford had "undergone emergency surgery for a chest wound” and was “being treated in a London hospital [...] under police guard.” Clifford was arrested later that day on suspicion of murder. 

On July 15, the police released an update, stating that Clifford was in police custody but had not been questioned yet as he was still receiving treatment in hospital. At this stage, it is believed that Clifford’s wounds were self-inflicted. 

The verdict

Viral videos on social media claimed that Kyle Clifford had been shot dead, with some alleging he was shot by police. However, recent reports indicate that he is alive and his wounds were self-inflicted. While it is not necessarily misleading to publish news as it is breaking, out-of-date posts that continue to spread on social media without updates or corrections can contribute to the spread of misinformation. We have therefore rated this as misleading.