EDINBURGH: A 36-year-old man has been charged in connection with a series of violent attacks across Edinburgh that left five people injured, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the suspect “appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred”.
Police Scotland confirmed the suspect, a white Scottish man, was arrested following multiple emergency calls on Friday evening reporting assaults, threats, robbery and vandalism in different parts of the city.
Officers said five men — aged 22, 22, 24, 27 and 39 — were injured in the incidents. Three of them were taken to hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
“A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal, and the individual will appear at court in due course,” Police Scotland said in a statement on Saturday, adding that there was “no further threat to the public”. The incidents are being investigated with the involvement of counter-terrorism officers.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show a bare-chested man, believed to be the suspect, moving through streets of the Scottish capital carrying a large weapon and shouting abuse, including references to “protecting the country” from Muslims.
Muslim organisations and community groups strongly condemned the attacks, with the Scottish Association of Mosques confirming that several of the victims were Muslim worshippers.
The group warned that recent rhetoric and online calls for anti-migrant protests had contributed to growing concern among minority communities.
The anti-Islamophobia organisation Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) urged authorities to treat the case as a suspected hate-driven incident, citing what it described as evidence of Islamophobic and far-right motivation.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attacks as “absolutely appalling” and said the suspect would “face the full force of the law”, while Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said he was “deeply concerned”, stressing there is “no place for violence, racism or intolerance” in society.
Absolutely appalling.
No one should face violence on our streets. The suspect appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. I will not tolerate this – he will face the full force of the law.
My thoughts are with those who are injured and I thank the police and the emergency…
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 20, 2026
The violence comes amid heightened tensions in parts of the UK over immigration and community relations, with recent unrest in other cities also linked to online misinformation and extremist narratives.
I am deeply concerned by these incidents. There is no place for violence, racism or intolerance in our country. I met community groups last week to assure them of the strong support of the Government. https://t.co/AstebTf53D
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) June 20, 2026
Police said the attacks began in a west Edinburgh suburb near a mosque before continuing in separate locations across the city. Officers were eventually able to confront and detain the suspect.
