A topless man smoking a cigarette and wielding two large knives swerved his car onto Leith Walk, straddled a cycle lane, then began attacking a black man and a delivery rider in a spree of violence that left five people injured and has been condemned by the prime minister as driven by “anti-Muslim hatred”.
The man, who has now been charged, was seen on CCTV footage obtained by the BBC driving erratically before abandoning his vehicle and repeatedly striking at a black man who had stepped off a tram. The victim ran away, and the attacker then turned on a delivery driver on an e-bike, who fell from his vehicle. Police arrived and detained him about five minutes after he pulled up on the street.
“Man charged after topless knife attacks on five in Edinburgh, including two men leaving mosque prayers.”
The attacks began earlier on Friday evening near Broomhouse Mosque in the west of Edinburgh, shortly after the Asr prayers at about 20:00. Two 22-year-old men were sitting in Sighthill Park when a man approached them. They were stabbed multiple times, taken to hospital, and discharged on Saturday. Two other injured men, aged 24 and 27, and a 39-year-old were also treated; none of the injuries were life-threatening.
One man well known to Muslim communities in the west of Edinburgh told the BBC his “heart dropped” when he learned the victims were members of a congregation. “It doesn’t make sense that this is actually happening,” he said. “You know how Edinburgh is, a very good community. I never thought that’s a thing that would happen here.”
Aaquil Hussain, a liaison officer managing parking and safety at Broomhouse Mosque, called the attacks an “affront to British values”. He said: “We understand that these attacks do not represent the vast majority of the city and Scotland and the United Kingdom.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the attacks appeared to be motivated by “anti-Muslim hatred”. Counter-terrorism police have joined the investigation.