Two teenagers have been arrested and charged following a gang fight at an Edinburgh supermarket that saw armed police deployed to the scene. The incident at the Asda car park at The Jewel involved a group of young males slashing blades and swinging batons at each other in broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon.
Officers were called after shocked onlookers reported the scenes at around 4.20pm on February 25. Footage shared on social media showed what appeared to be two males duelling, one holding a black baton, the other a bladed weapon, while a third man jumped around behind them. Onlookers were heard gasping “he’s been slashed” as one fleeing male was struck after tripping on a petrol pump.
Two males aged 17 and 18 have since been charged in connection with alleged assault to endangerment of life, breach of the peace, and weapons offences. Police Scotland is treating it as a targeted attack, and a major manhunt continues to trace others involved.
Chief Inspector Alison Macdonald said: “This type of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Officers are committed to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour in the local community. Targeted patrols will continue to deter and detect any criminality.”
There were no reported injuries, which given the footage doing the rounds online is remarkable. A supermarket car park in the middle of the afternoon should not be a place where people witness knife fights. The fact that it happened at all, regardless of whether it was targeted, tells you something about the state of things that statistics alone cannot capture.