ONE of the people taken to hospital after a “devastating” series of attacks on Scotland’s west coast has been discharged, police have said.
Officers said that the other two people who were injured by the gun-wielding attacker, a 32-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man, remain in hospital.
The woman, who was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment, remains in a serious condition. The man, who was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, remains in a critical condition.
It comes after the man who died following the shooting incidents on Skye and Wester Ross on Wednesday was named as John MacKinnon, 47.
Giving an update on the case on Thursday, Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett (below) said: “A 39-year-old man has been arrested in connection with all of the incidents, which are being treated as linked, and there is no threat to the wider community.
“The thoughts of myself and colleagues across Police Scotland are very much with the family and friends of Mr MacKinnon and the three people who remain injured.
“These incidents took place in a close-knit rural area and have a significant impact not only on those directly affected but also friends and their neighbours living in these communities.
“Serious incidents witnessed yesterday are extremely rare and I would like to further reassure the local communities that they were dealt with and there is no further threat.
“The policing response was significant, as people would expect, and involve national resources from across Police Scotland, including Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow. Officers were drafted from all these locations to support division officers and police locally in Skye.”
Police were initially called to the Tarskavaig area on Skye shortly before 9am on Wednesday after a report of a 32-year-old woman having been seriously injured at a property.
Speaking on Thursday, the police boss went on: “Local officers who live and work in these communities brought the situation to as swift a conclusion as possible and I thank everyone involved, including colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service, for their outstanding efforts in responding to what was a distressing series of incidents.
“The investigation, being led by Police Scotland’s major investigation team, is complex and challenging, and I would also like to thank the local communities for their understanding and co-operation as we work through our enquiries.
“Given the size of the investigation and the fact we are dealing with a number of different sites, the considerable police presence will remain for the near future.
“We are working with local partners, including Highland Council and NHS Highland, to provide support and welfare to those affected by the events of yesterday, and I would urge anyone with any concerns or worries to please speak to our officers who are there to help.”
Ian Blackford, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, said we should continue to look at gun regulations after the events.
He told Good Morning Scotland on Thursday it was “only right” agencies were strict about granting licences.
“I think in any situation, whether there’s this one, and of course, we were looking at what had been a very painful anniversary of Dunblane or that not that long ago. I think it is important that we continue to assess where we are.
“These are very controversial topics and of course, in these rural areas, we’re all aware there are applications from time to time for people that have licences for guns particularly when it comes to agricultural matters.
“Given what we have seen over the course of the last 24 hours, it is right and proper that we continue to look at the regulations that we have in place for the very simple reason that all of us have got a responsibility to keep people safe.”
Skye councillor John Finlayson said: “I know how close-knit and big-hearted the communities in Skye and Lochalsh are and we will come together to support each other through this devastating time.
“I would like to thank the emergency services for everything they have done, and continue to do, and our thoughts and prayers are with all the families that have been affected by the events of today which have hit everyone in our communities so hard.”
