Man in hospital after knife attack outside sheriff court

A MAN was stabbed in the chest with a knife outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court, just moments after emerging from a hearing.

The 28-year-old victim was knifed by another man in Chambers Street at around 11.15am yesterday, and was still receiving treatment at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last night.

His wounds were not believed to be life-threatening.

Police said a 29-year-old man had been arrested and charged in connection with the serious assault, and was due to appear in court today. A 28-year-old man has also been charged with assault.

More than a dozen officers carried out a fingertip search of the street in the wake of the attack, but it is understood that it was a member of the public who spotted a knife inside a plastic bag and alerted police.

Visitors to Edinburgh Sheriff Court have to pass through metal detectors to be allowed entry to the building. Several police officers are also deployed at the court complex.

The north side of the busy road was cordoned off from the Sheriff Court to South Bridge from 11.30am yesterday.

Police confirmed the victim made his own way to the ERI as they urged any witnesses to the incident to come forward.

Officers are understood to be checking CCTV footage from Chambers Street to gather evidence.

A police spokesman said: “We are investigating after a man was seriously assaulted in Edinburgh yesterday.

“The 28-year-old was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he was treated for a puncture wound to his chest following the incident, which happened around 11.15am in Chambers Street.

“His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.”

In July 2010, a man who repeatedly hit his victim on the head with a baton as he left Edinburgh Sheriff Court was put on probation for a year and ordered to attend anger management classes. Craig Moore, 25, from Dalkeith, Midlothian, admitted carrying out the attack on Michael Martin, the uncle of his baby daughter, outside the court on November 5, 2009.

Sheriff Frank Crowe blasted Moore’s actions and told him he had used the court in a “deliberate attack” and as a means of setting upon his victim.