Man charged after suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh

A 36-year-old man has been charged after five men were injured in a series of suspected anti-Muslim attacks across Edinburgh, including two victims who had attended prayers at a mosque about half an hour before they were attacked.

Police Scotland said the incidents took place on Friday, June 19, 2026, beginning in the Sighthill area in the west of the city before reports came in from Telford Road and Leith Walk. Counterterrorism police have joined the investigation.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the suspect appeared to be motivated by “anti-Muslim hatred.” He added: “I will not tolerate this – he will face full force of the law.”

Police said five men, aged 22, 22, 24, 27 and 39, were hurt. The BBC reported that four required hospital treatment, while Al Jazeera reported that police said three needed hospital treatment. Police said none of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening.

The BBC said it had obtained CCTV footage showing a topless man driving erratically onto Leith Walk, straddling a cycle lane, abandoning his car and attacking people while smoking and wielding two large knives. The footage shows him running toward a man on an e-bike, then returning to the car before attacking a Black man who had stepped off a tram. The man is seen repeatedly striking at him with the knives before giving up the chase and battering the door of a pizzeria as members of the public flee.

Minutes later, the footage shows the man attacking a delivery rider on an e-bike, who falls from the vehicle. Police arrived shortly afterward and detained the suspect about five minutes after he first pulled up in the street. Police Scotland said officers equipped with Tasers confronted and detained the man but did not discharge their devices.

The attacks began near Broomhouse Mosque, where two 22-year-old men had attended Asr prayers at about 20:00 before sitting in nearby Sighthill Park. They were approached by a man and later taken to hospital after being stabbed multiple times, the BBC reported. They were discharged on Saturday.

The Scottish Association of Mosques said two victims were attacked after prayers. The Muslim Council of Britain said the community was “rightly anxious” and criticised “political rhetoric that demonises an entire community.”

Aaquil Hussain, a liaison officer who manages parking and safety issues at Broomhouse Mosque, called the attacks an “affront to British values.” He told the BBC: “We understand that these attacks do not represent the vast majority of the city and Scotland and the United Kingdom. We’re proud to live in Edinburgh. We will get on with it, this will pass. We are shook but we are resilient.”

Hussain said the community wanted the UK government to tackle “extremism” that had led people to “buying into propaganda which was absolutely false.”

Police said they also received reports of incidents around retailers in the west and north of the city. The BBC reported that the attacker is thought to have travelled to a Shell petrol station on Telford Road, where a taxi driver was confronted, his car was vandalised and an axe was thrown through the vehicle’s window. Other footage showed a man at a BP petrol station on Ferry Road beside a black vehicle with a smashed windscreen before entering the shop and pushing shelves over.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton called the attacks “shocking” and said: “I want to send a clear message of support to all our communities that there is no place for racism or faith-based hate in Scotland, which is at its best when we stand together.”

Scottish First Minister John Swinney said there was “no place for violence, racism or intolerance in our country.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “horrified” and added: “There is no place for hatred and violence against Muslims.”