East Lothian '˜gun' incident: Police swoop to arrest three men

DETECTIVES investigating a dramatic firearms incident that closed the A1 last night made a string of arrests.

Three cars have been recovered by officers investigating reports that a firearm was discharged during a violent clash on Monday.

The Evening News understands two carloads of men were involved in a pursuit on the A1 at Wallyford before one vehicle rammed the second on the A199 near a recycling 
centre at Dolphingstone shortly after 1.30pm.

Police have launched an investigation.

Two damaged motors were found at the scene within minutes of the alarm being raised by concerned locals and a third car was recovered on Tuesday morning in Cockburnspath, in Berwickshire.

The vehicles are being examined by forensic experts in an attempt to identify who was behind the wheel at the time of the incident.

Police Scotland sources say there is “nothing to indicate” that anyone was injured in the shooting attempt which is being linked to an ongoing feud involving members of the Travelling community.

A force insider revealed: “It looks like two cars each with several people on board collided after a confrontation on the A1. The cars are both damaged and were abandoned at the scene.

“We recovered a third on Tuesday morning and all of them are being forensically examined.

“There were several reports of gunfire at the time and that is still being investigated. It prompted a response with a range of specialist resources deployed.”

He added: “It appears that it was one car versus another car and the third vehicle was there as back-up to one group. Independent witnesses reported hearing gunfire.”

The A1 at the Wallyford remained closed until late yesterday afternoon while investigations, including a fingertip search for potential evidence were carried out.

The A199 was also closed in both directions from the Strawberry Corner roundabout to the junction with the A1.

Superintendent Angus MacInnes from Lothians and Scottish Borders Division appealed for help identifying those responsible and asked any witnesses to come forward.

He said: “While we are still working to establish the exact nature of the incident on Monday, we believe this to be an isolated matter involving a group of people all known to one another. We do not believe there to be a risk to the general public.

“Local officers in East Lothian and the Scottish Borders are being supported by CID and specialist resources during the course of this investigation and if you believe you have any relevant information that can assist these inquiries then please come forward.

“In particular, we would like to speak to motorists who were on the A199 on Monday afternoon and may have dash-cam footage of what happened.

“I want to stress that incidents of this nature are incredibly rare and we have a dedicated team carrying out an extensive investigation to bring those responsible to justice.”

Police said three men, aged 30, 25 and 17, were in custody and have now been charged following the disturbance.

The trio are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, 29 Novemeber.

Chief Inspector Steven Duncan, Local Area Commander for East Lothian said: “This incident was in full view of various members of the public and we recognise the impact it may have had on people, particularly with the slip road of the A1 being closed for over 24-hours, while we conducted inquiries at the scene.

“I would like to thank the public for their support of this investigation and want to reassure everyone that incidents of this nature remain extremely rare.”

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