Counter-terrorism officers investigate after five injured in violent incidents in Edinburgh
Counter-terrorism officers are involved in investigations into a series of violent incidents in Edinburgh that left five people injured, police said.
Counter-terrorism officers are involved in investigations into a series of violent incidents in Edinburgh that left five people injured, police said.
The organisation Muslim Engagement and Development said several of those injured were Muslim.
Police Scotland said a 36-year-old white Scottish man has been arrested and said there was no further threat to the public.
Officers were called to a report of an incident in the Sighthill area of the city, where two men were injured, at about 8.50pm on Friday.
The Scottish Association of Mosques said two worshippers were attacked in a park after leaving Broomhouse mosque.
Police said it then received reports about incidents around retailers across the west and north of the city. The force said that during this period three other men were allegedly attacked in the Telford Road and Leith Walk area.
Police said that five men, two aged 22, and others aged 24, 27 and 39, sustained a range of injuries and three needed hospital treatment. None of the injuries are life-threatening.
Omar Afzal, director of public affairs for the Scottish Association of Mosques, told the Scotsman: “There is a profound sense of shock, alarm and anger within Muslim communities across Scotland today.
“These latest attacks are deeply disturbing. However, they do not exist in a vacuum. For years, Muslim communities have warned about the consequences of anti-Muslim hatred becoming normalised in public discourse. When prejudice is left unchallenged, it creates an environment in which some individuals feel emboldened to act on that hatred.”
Assistant chief constable Catriona Paton said: “I want to send a clear message of support to all our communities that there is no place for racism or faith-based hate in a Scotland which is at its best when we stand together.
“Officers responded to multiple reports of a fast-moving sequence of events across Edinburgh before arresting a man and public safety was our priority.
“Extensive work is ongoing to establish all the circumstances.
“We are being supported by counter-terrorism policing and working under the direction of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”
Police closed off Leith Walk on Friday evening as the incidents unfolded. Posts on social media appeared to show a shirtless man carrying a long weapon roaming a street and battering a restaurant door in the Scottish capital.”
Another video appeared to show the same man on the ground shouting about “protecting the country” while being held by a police officer.
A major incident public portal has been set up to encourage members of the public to submit information directly to officers.
