Police are appealing for information to help trace a man who carried out an assault and robbery in the south of the Capital during the early hours of this morning.
The incident happened around 12:15am when the suspect struck a 50-year-old man to the back of the head with an unknown object as he walked on Captain’s Road at its junction with Lasswade Road.
The man fell to the ground and lost consciousness for a period. When he awoke he found that his wallet, containing a three-figure sum, had been taken.
Paramedics were called to the scene and assisted the victim who had sustained serious head injuries. He was then transferred to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he remains in a stable condition.
Police are keen to trace the suspect as quickly as possible and are keeping an open mind that the man may also have been responsible for an attempted robbery a short time earlier.
At around 11:30pm (Fri, July 3), a 17-year-old male was walking home on Gracemount Drive when a man approached him with a red metallic baseball bat and demanded that he hand over money. The teenager managed to run away without handing over any money or any of his property.
The description given to police in both incidents is very similar and officers are keen to hear from anyone who was in the area around this time and who noticed any unusual behaviour.
The male suspect is described as having a mixed race appearance, in his early 20’s, around 5ft 6inches tall with a very thin build and spoke a Scottish accent. He had curly stubble on his neck but not his face, he was wearing light grey jogging bottoms, a hooded top with the hood up and carrying a red metallic baseball bat that measured around 2ft in length and had dark/purplish marks near its handle.
Detective Constable Alastair Paisley said: “Given the close proximity of these incidents and the time of night they happened, we believe there is a strong possibility that these attacks were carried out by the same perpetrator.
“As part of our ongoing investigation officers are currently reviewing local CCTV and carrying out door-to-door enquires
“We also have a detailed description of the male which, of course, includes a very distinctive baseball bat and I would urge anyone who seen the suspect or has information relevant to our enquiries to please contact police on 101 or, alternatively information can be passed anonymously through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
