One person has died and three others have been injured during a series of incidents involving a firearm in the Scottish Highlands.
Emergency services were called to reports of a woman, 32, being found seriously injured in Tarskavaig, Skye, shortly before 9am on Wednesday.
She has been taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.
Officers were then called to the Teangue area of the island at 9.30am after a gun was fired.
I would like to reassure people that we are treating these incidents as contained with no wider threat to the public— Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett
Emergency services attended, but a 47-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police subsequently attended at a property in the Dornie area in Wester Ross after further gunshots were heard.
A man was found with serious injuries and has been taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and a woman, whose condition is not known, was taken to Broadford Hospital.
A 39-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the three incidents, which police believe are linked.
The suspect has also been taken to Raigmore Hospital.
Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch described the news as “one of the worst days that I can recall in the history of Skye and Lochalsh.”
Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett, local policing commander for Highlands and Islands Division, said there will be a significant police presence in the area over the coming days, adding: “We will be working with partners to provide support to the local community.
“I would like to reassure people that we are treating these incidents as contained with no wider threat to the public.”
He asked any members of the public who believe they may have any information which could help police enquiries to call 101, quoting reference 0713 of 10 August, 2022.
West Highland communities are close-knit, we are warm and welcoming, and this will shatter us to the core— Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed four people were taken to hospital following the spate of incidents.
The rescue operation saw multiple ambulances, air ambulances and special rapid retrieval emergency teams, which are only summoned for incidents in rural locations when people are in critical need of medical attention.
Ms Forbes, who has just given birth to a baby girl, added: “I cannot begin to imagine what the family and friends of those who have lost a loved one are going through, and they should be in all our thoughts and prayers right now.
“West Highland communities are close-knit, we are warm and welcoming, and this will shatter us to the core.
“It feels like our very heart has been ripped apart.
“I, and I am sure many others, never thought we would see such an awful day.”
The communities of Skye and Dornie will be shocked and saddened by these incidents and our thoughts are with the individuals affected— Highland Council convener Bill Lobban
Social media posts have indicated that there has been a large police presence in parts of Skye and Dornie on Wednesday, with locals in the area reporting seeing a helicopter and an ambulance.
Ian Blackford, SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, said the news had “shocked the place to the core”.
Speaking to Radio Forth News, he said: “We don’t have an awful lot of crime in these areas.
“For people to hear the news of today’s incidents that have taken place in three separate occasions, I think it’s really shocked the place to the core, it’s shocked people that this sort of thing can happen.
“It’s a terrible, terrible day that these things have come to Skye and Lochalsh.
“It takes some time for some of these communities to recover from this and it’s really important that we make sure all the support is there for the families.”
He thanked emergency services for stopping the incident from spreading further than it did.
On behalf of Highland Council, convener Bill Lobban said: “We are thankful to our emergency services colleagues for bringing this very serious and shocking incident to a close.
“We will be providing support to the communities and our partners in every way possible.
“The communities of Skye and Dornie will be shocked and saddened by these incidents and our thoughts are with the individuals affected.”
