A man has been charged in connection with a series of shooting incidents in Skye and Wester Ross which left a father-of-six dead and two seriously injured.
John MacKinnon, 47, was found dead at the scene of a property in the Teangue area on Skye after a firearm was discharged shortly after 9.30am on Wednesday.
He was believed to have been trying to save the lives of others by preventing his attacker getting hold of a gun.
Three other people, a 32-year-old woman, a 63-year-old woman and man also aged 63, were also injured.
Police said the 32-year-old woman remains in a serious condition and the 63-year-old man is critical.
A 39-year-old man, who was also taken to hospital with injuries, and who was arrested in connection with all of the incidents, which are being treated as linked.
Police say he has now been charged in connection with the death of Mr MacKinnon and the incidents which left the three others injured, Police Scotland confirmed.
He is due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court on Friday.
Police Scotland said there is no threat to the wider community.
Mr MacKinnon, who worked at a local distillery and castle, was described by one school friend as "one of the kindest men".
His family have paid tribute to the “loving husband, father of six, brother, uncle and grandfather” who was a “much-loved member of the community”.
He was killed just half an hour before a woman – believed to be his sister, Rowena MacDonald – was reportedly stabbed near Tarskavaig at around 9am.
Two people were then injured in a second shooting in Dornie, Wester Ross on the mainland, over 30 miles away by road.
The family of Mr MacKinnon issued a statement which read: “John was a loving husband, father of six, brother, uncle and grandfather to his family, and was a much-loved member of the community.
“John loved the outdoors, was a keen motorcyclist and, as a loved father, shared his activities with his family."
Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett, local policing commander for Highlands and Islands Division, said: “The thoughts of everyone are with the family and friends of Mr MacKinnon and the three people who remain injured in hospital.
“These incidents took place in close-knit, rural areas and will have a significant impact not only on those directly affected, but also friends and neighbours living in these communities.
“Serious incidents which were 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 to local people."
Police say a Taser was discharged during the course of the incidents.
The force said there was a licence for the gun used in the incidents and it was owned by the person who discharged it.
Asked if there would be additional firearms checks in the area, Mr Trickett said: “There is a vigorous process around firearms licensing that involves both local officers, the divisional firearms licensing team, who are specialists in the area, and national firearms licensing.
“All licences are reviewed as per the legislation and that will continue in an ongoing way.”
He added: “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.”
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.
She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for treatment and remains in a serious condition.
Nicola Sturgeon said everyone in Scotland will be thinking of the communities affected.
Speaking as she visited a church group in Forfar, Angus, on Thursday, she said: “My thoughts are with those most directly affected by what has been a horrific incident on Skye.”
The First Minister said, given the close-knit communities in the Highlands, “the sense of devastation will be felt even more acutely”.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel