Police Scotland

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for the community to come forward with information on a number of serious incidents over the last couple of weeks, which are now being linked.

On Tuesday 9th September, at around 12.40am, shots were fired at a property at Fernieside Avenue, Edinburgh. There is a limited description of the suspect only described as wearing a hooded top. This person however was seen to enter a dark blue coupe style vehicle which was driven off at speed.

On Friday 19th September a suspicious incident occurred where two males attended at the door of a property in Hyvot Bank between 9.30pm and 9.45pm. The first man is described as white, early 20ā€™s, 5 ft10in tall, medium to slim build, wearing a grey jogging suit. The second man is described as white with dark hair.

On Saturday 20th September shots were discharged at a parked vehicle within The Murrays Brae around 9.30pm and a suspicious device was left. A few minutes later shots were discharged at a property in Gilmerton Dykes Drive. Around this time, another suspicious device was left at Walter Scott Avenue. Both suspicious devices were found not to be viable.

There are no reports of anyone having been injured as a result of any of the incidents but they are now being investigated by the Organised Crime Unit.

A motorbike was seen in the Murrays at the time of these incidents on Saturday and it is believed there were two people on the bike. The rider had a helmet, but it is unclear if the passenger was wearing a helmet or had a hood over the head. Police are now looking for anyone who has further information on this bike, or other information that can assist, to come forward.

Detective Superintendent David Gordon said: ā€œWe can confirm that we are linking these incidents together under a single investigation. This is now a major investigation led by the Organised Crime Unit, reflecting how serious we are taking these reckless and dangerous acts.

ā€œI would ask the local community to think about where they were at the time of these incidents and if they saw anything suspicious or have any information to contact the Police. We need information from the public about who committed these offences and the current location of the firearms used in these crimes.

ā€œWe believe the answer lies within the local community and are appealing for anyone who has information, no matter how insignificant they feel it is, to come forward.

If you wish to remain anonymous, then the charity Crimestoppers who offer a completely anonymous way to report information can be contacted on 0800 555 111. They have never broken a promise of anonymity and the call to Crimestoppers will not show up on your bill.

ā€œBehaviour like this will not be tolerated by Police Scotland or those within the community, and we will go after all those who seek to threaten public safety. We have every method at our disposal to build the picture further and to bring those responsible into custody.ā€

Chief Inspector Richard Horan said: ā€œWe have high visibility police patrols in the area to offer community reassurance and we will be delivering leaflets door to door in the area over the coming days. Iā€™d like to encourage the public to speak with officers if they have any information than can assist enquiries.ā€

Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.