| Skye and Wester Ross attacks | |
|---|---|
Locations of the Skye and Lochalsh attacks | |
| Location | Skye and Lochalsh, Scotland, UK |
| Date | 10 August 2022 c. 9:00 a.m. – c. 10:00 a.m. (UTC+1) |
Attack type | shooting, stabbing |
| Weapons | Firearm |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 3 |
| Charges | Murder Attempted murder (×3) |
The Skye and Wester Ross attacks were a series of shootings and a stabbing which occurred on 10 August 2022 on the Isle of Skye and in Lochalsh (Skye and Lochalsh). The attacks resulted in one person being killed and three injured.
At 9:02 a.m. BST, police were initially called to a property in Tarskavaig, Skye, after a report of a 32-year-old woman sustaining critical injuries after being stabbed.[1][2] She was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.[3][4]
At about 9:30 a.m., officers were called to an incident in Teangue, Skye, 8 mi (13 km) away from Tarskavaig.[3] The police said a firearm had been discharged and a man, aged 47, had died at the scene.[5]
At around 10 a.m., they were called to an incident in Dornie, Lochalsh, about 26 mi (42 km) away from Teangue, where a gun had also been fired.[6] A man and woman, both aged 63, were injured and taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and Broadford Hospital in Skye respectively.[4][7]
Police said that the incidents were linked and that a 39-year-old man (later named as Finlay MacDonald)[8] had been arrested, with a taser being discharged during the arrest.[7] He was also taken to Raigmore Hospital.[4] Multiple ambulances, air ambulances, an Emergency Medical Retrieval Service and a special operations response team were involved.[9]
On 11 August 2022, Finlay MacDonald was charged with the murder of his brother-in-law John McKinnon and the attempted murders of three others.[6][8] It was confirmed that his 32-year-old wife Rowena McDonald and 63-year-old chiropractor John Donald MacKenzie were still in hospital with serious injuries, but that MacKenzie's 63-year-old wife Fay had been released.[1][7][8]
On 12 August 2022, MacDonald appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court. He made no plea and was remanded in custody. He faces a murder charge, and two charges of assault to severe injury, danger of life and attempted murder, and a third charge of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and attempted murder.[10][8] At the time his wife remained at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in critical condition, whilst the 63-year-old man remained at Raigmore Hospital in serious condition.[10]
On 27 July 2023, at a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, the date for MacDonald's trial was set for 14 May 2024. MacDonald plead not guilty to all charges, through his lawyer Shahid Latif.[8] On 29 November 2024, MacDonald was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years.[11]
