Edinburgh weapon incidents injure four, police arrest 36-year-old man

Four people were taken to hospital after a topless man carrying a weapon was seen moving through west Edinburgh and Leith, with one clip showing him battering the locked door of a pizzeria on Leith Walk as members of the public ran away. Police Scotland said the incidents unfolded across a number of locations on Friday evening, 19 June, and that a 36-year-old man was arrested.

The clearest public footage showed what appeared to be the same man striking the pizzeria door panes while staff closed the electronic shutters. In another video, officers were seen holding him on the ground, and he was heard shouting that he was “protecting the country”. Social media images also appeared to show him running through Edinburgh bare-chested with a large weapon.

Police said the incidents happened across the west of the city and Leith during the evening, suggesting a sequence of fast-moving calls rather than a single confrontation. Four people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment, but no details have been released on their condition.

The arrest brought the immediate threat to an end, and officers said there was no further risk to the public at this time. Police thanked members of the public for their assistance as enquiries continued into how the incidents developed and how the response was coordinated across several parts of Edinburgh.