A 36-year-old man injured five people in a series of knife and axe attacks at several locations in the Scottish capital.
The case is officially being investigated by the Scottish Counter-Terrorism Department, with the leading version of the investigators being an attack motivated by Islamophobia.
The incidents began at around 8.50pm last night, when police received the first call about an attack in the western area of Sighthill. Two men were attacked immediately after leaving the Broomhouse Mosque.
Within minutes, the attacker moved through the city, carrying out successive attacks in the areas of Telford Road and Leith Walk. Among the five injured in total – men aged between 22 and 39 – is also an Asian food delivery service provider on the Deliveroo platform.
Three of the injured were hospitalized at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, with doctors confirming that their lives are not in danger.
Dozens of shocking videos filmed by eyewitnesses have appeared on social networks. They show a half-naked man walking through the streets of Edinburgh, brandishing a long bladed weapon. In one of the recordings, the attacker tries to break the window of the Origano pizzeria on Leith Walk, while frightened employees quickly lower the metal shutters to protect themselves.
The police managed to neutralize and detain the perpetrator - a 36-year-old white Scot - at around 9:30 p.m. During the arrest, the officers used a stun gun, without having to fire shots. During a search of a taxi at a nearby petrol station, officers found a hand axe.
As he was wrestled to the ground by police, the man shouted that he was “defending his country“.
The investigation is being conducted jointly with counter-terrorism structures due to clear indications of a hate crime. The charity MEND and the Scottish Association of Mosques strongly condemned the attack, stressing that the victims were targeted because of their religious affiliation.
The Muslim Council of Britain issued an official position in which it warned that such violence is a direct result of political rhetoric that demonizes minority communities in the country, and called for tighter security measures around religious places of worship.