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A major investigation has been launched into an ongoing feud between crime gangs in Edinburgh which has seen properties firebombed and shots fired in the capital’s streets.

Police Scotland said a team of detectives, along with specialist and divisional officers, are working to disrupt the criminal activity currently blighting the nation’s east coast.

A home in Edinburgh’s Hay Drive was firebombed during the early hours of Sunday.

Police are probing the “suspicious fire” along with two shooting incidents in the city.

On Thursday, a firearm was discharged at a property in Niddrie Marischal Crescent. The following day a gun was fired at an address in West Pilton Bank.

No one was injured in either attack, but police believe both incidents are linked to groups “who are actively targeting each other”.

Earlier this month, a beauty salon in Leith’s Albert Street and a storage warehouse in Musselburgh, East Lothian, went up in flames.

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The storage warehouse fire in Musselburgh. Pic: Iona Paton
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The storage warehouse fire in Musselburgh. Pic: Iona Paton

Sky News understands officers are keeping an open mind as to whether these incidents are linked to the others.

Superintendent Paul Gillespie said: “We understand this will be concerning for local communities, but I want to reassure everyone that we are pursuing those involved and are using every tool and tactic at our disposal.

“From our investigations so far, we believe these are linked to groups who are actively targeting each other.”

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The force said “significant” CCTV footage had been collected and, on Saturday, road and vehicle checks across several streets in the Ferry Road, Niddrie and Pennywell areas were carried out.

Superintendent Gillespie added: “We are carrying out additional high-visibility patrols and I would encourage anyone with any concerns to approach these officers.

“We understand the significant impact this has had on the local community. If you know anything that could help, please do the right thing and speak to police.”

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Nasen Saadi: Criminology student with ‘grievance against women’ jailed for murdering personal trainer on beach

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Nasen Saadi: Criminology student with 'grievance against women' jailed for murdering personal trainer on beach

A criminology student who murdered one woman and attempted to murder another on a beach in Bournemouth has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 39 years.

Nasen Saadi, 21, from Croydon, fatally stabbed personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, 10 times as she sat beside a fire on Durley Chine Beach in Dorset on the evening of 24 May.

Her friend Leanne Miles, who was sitting next to her on the beach, suffered 20 knife injuries but survived the attack.

Saadi was found guilty of murder and attempted murder after a trial at Winchester Crown Court in December. On Friday, he was sentenced to life in prison.

In sentencing, the judge Mrs Justice Cutts, said Saadi had denied his guilt because he wanted the “notoriety of a trial” and had a “complete lack of remorse”.

Nasen Saadi.
Pic: Dorset Police
Image:
Nasen Saadi. Pic: Dorset Police

She said: “The clear evidence is you planned to kill and went to Bournemouth to do so.

“I am satisfied that you chose Amie Gray and Leanne Miles because you have a grievance against society as a whole and women in particular.”

She added: “It seems you have felt humiliated and rejected for any advances you have made towards girls, which has led over time to a deeply suppressed rage towards society and women in particular.”

The judge said the attack was “utterly senseless” and added: “I have no doubt you are an extremely dangerous young man and will remain so.”

The trial previously heard how Saadi, who was studying criminology at Greenwich University in London, was asked by one of his lecturers: “You’re not planning a murder, are you?”

He had asked tutors questions about self-defence for murder and how long DNA stays behind.

Saadi, who had collected knives and researched locations to carry out the killing, told detectives he had an interest in true crime, unsolved cases, and horror movies.

The court heard he used the name “Ninja Killer” on his Snapchat account and also had the username “NSkills” on his computer.

Undated handout photo issued by Dorset Police of Sian Gray (right) with her wife Amie Gray who died after being stabbed on Durley Chine Beach, Bournemouth at around 11.45pm on May 24. Sian has paid tribute to Amie as a "loving wife and mother", adding: "Her giggly laugh and big smile will be hard to be without." Issue date: Wednesday May 29, 2024.
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Amie Gray (left) and her wife Sian. Pic: Handout/Dorset Police


During the trial, the jury was played CCTV footage the prosecution said showed Saadi walking along the beach promenade.

They also heard a CCTV audio recording of screaming and a male voice at around 11.39pm – the time of the attack.

A CCTV grab dated 21/05/24 taken from footage issued by the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) of Nasen Saadi walking along Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth, and a map of the location underneath. Saadi, 20, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court, charged with the murder of 34-year-old physical trainer Amie Gray at Durley Chine Beach, West Undercliff Promenade, on May 24, and the attempted murder of 39-year-old Leanne Miles at the same location. Issue date: Tuesday December 10, 2024.
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Nasen Saadi walking along Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth, and a map of the location


A recording of a 999 call made by Ms Miles was played to the court in which she was heard crying in pain.

The 39-year-old told the operator: “I have been stabbed loads of times. Oh my God, I am getting dizzy, please hurry up, please hurry up.”

She continues: “I am bleeding everywhere, I have been stabbed loads of times.”

CCTV still of Nasen Saadi.
Pic: CPS
Image:
CCTV still of Saadi. Pic: CPS


The defendant, who chose not to give evidence, admitted visiting Bournemouth but denied the offences.

He told police he might have “blacked out” and had no memory of the period that included the attacks.

For publication now.  Photos provided by Dorset Police of Aime Gray.
Image:
Amie Gray. Pic: Handout/Dorset Police


In a police interview shown in court, Saadi said: “I am not responsible and I have no reason to attack someone for no reason.”

Saadi, who was wearing a blue sweatshirt and glasses, showed no emotion as the sentence was read out.

He pleaded guilty to failing to provide his mobile phone code to police.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Gray’s wife, Sian Gray, said the death would “haunt” her forever.

She said: “At the age of 36, I should not have to hold my deceased wife’s cold hand, nor should my daughter have to say goodbye and grieve over a coffin.

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“Amie’s beautiful life has now been reduced to forever being remembered as ‘the murder victim’.”

Mrs Gray’s mother Sharon Macklin said in a statement her daughter was “an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul. She had a big smile and a loud laugh, and when she entered the room, it filled with laughter, and her presence couldn’t be ignored.

“She was beautiful inside and out. Even if life wasn’t great for her, she would always find the time to help others.”

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Marcin Majerkiewicz: Man who murdered pensioner and dismembered his body jailed for life

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Marcin Majerkiewicz: Man who murdered pensioner and dismembered his body jailed for life

A man has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 34 years for murdering a pensioner and dismembering his body with a hacksaw.

Warning: This article contains details that some people might find distressing.

Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, bludgeoned Stuart Everett with a hammer at the house they shared in Salford, Greater Manchester, overnight between 27 and 28 March last year.

He used a hacksaw to dismember the 67-year-old, cutting him into 27 pieces, before taking the body parts in plastic bags on bus journeys across Salford and Manchester to dump the evidence.

Bodyworn video footage of Majerkiewicz's arrest. Pic: Greater Manchester Police
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Bodyworn video footage of Majerkiewicz’s arrest. Pic: Greater Manchester Police


Police say the Polish father-of-two had an obsession with gore and gruesome horror, as well as a tattoo of slasher-film character Jason from the horror franchise Friday the 13th.

Majerkiewicz denied responsibility for the killing but offered no evidence in his defence. His motive remains unclear.

Jurors convicted him of murder following a three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. On Friday, he was jailed at the same court for life with a minimum term of 34 years.

Trial judge Mr Justice Cavanagh told Majerkiewicz, who was unemployed at the time of the crime, it was pre-planned murder for gain, to steal Mr Everett’s money to pay off his spiralling debts.

Stuart Everett. Pic: PA
Image:
Victim Stuart Everett. Pic: Greater Manchester Police

Majerkiewicz, who planned to flee abroad after the murder, owed £60,000 in loan debt and £14,000 on credit cards, the court heard.

Mr Justice Cavanagh said: “You acted in an almost unbelievably cold-blooded and macabre way and showed complete disrespect and contempt for your friend’s remains.

“This denied dignity to Stuart Everett even in death and greatly increased the pain suffered by Stuart Everett’s family when the murder came to light.”

Mr Everett’s family initially had no idea he was dead as Majerkiewicz had assumed use of his finances and his mobile phone, even sending text messages and a birthday card to his relatives purporting to be from Mr Everett.

The court heard that, while former civil servant Mr Everett was murdered overnight between 27 and 28 March last year, police were only alerted after his torso was found at Kersal Dale nature reserve in Salford on 4 April.

Police officers by a forensic tent at Kersal Dale, near Salford, Greater Manchester. Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, both of Worsley Road, Eccles, were charged with murder as more human remains were discovered in the investigation into the body part found in Salford earlier this month, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said. Issue date: Monday April 29, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Salford. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
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A police tent in Kersal Dale nature reserve where Mr Everett’s torso was found. Pic: PA

Police scoured CCTV and found that two days before the discovery, a man entered the wooded area carrying a heavy blue bag and left shortly after without it.

His identity was unknown. But three weeks later, Majerkiewicz was spotted by an officer working on the case who drove past him by chance and noticed his resemblance to the man from the CCTV.

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Moment Salford killer is arrested

When police searched Majerkiewicz’s address, they found evidence of blood on a carpet and furniture and an attempted clean-up after the killing and dismemberment.

After discovering the torso, police launched Operation Harker, which found evidence at 15 crime scenes and human remains at five different sites.

Only a third of Mr Everett’s body has been recovered.

Mr Everett had worked for the NHS and the Department for Work and Pensions. He was known to his family as Benny.

His brother Richard Ziemacki, in a victim impact statement read to the court, said: “It’s extremely difficult to put into words how much I miss him. Seeing my brother on CCTV and listening to his voice for the last time will be moments that will live with me forever – I have no words other than absolutely horrendous.

“Every day we have sat watching in disbelief as the evidence unfolded and clearly shown the way my brother’s end had been planned and orchestrated by an incredibly devious, monstrous individual.”

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King Charles seen in public for first time since suffering side effects from cancer treatment

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King Charles seen in public for first time since suffering side effects from cancer treatment

The King has been seen in public for the first time since his short hospital visit.

The monarch, 76, waved at well-wishers while leaving Clarence House in London in a car this morning. It is understood he was going to his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.

It comes after he cancelled his Friday engagements due to “temporary side effects” from his cancer treatment.

Buckingham Palace said after “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer” on Thursday, the King “experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital”.

King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. The King has been seen in public for the first time since a hospital visit for side effects from his cancer treatment as he waved at well-wishers while leaving Clarence House in London this morning. Picture date: Friday March 28, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL King. Photo credit should read: Ben Whitley/PA Wire
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Pic: PA

King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. The King has been seen in public for the first time since a hospital visit for side effects from his cancer treatment as he waved at well-wishers while leaving Clarence House in London this morning. Picture date: Friday March 28, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL King. Photo credit should read: Ben Whitley/PA Wire
Image:
Pic: PA

King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. The King has been seen in public for the first time since a hospital visit for side effects from his cancer treatment as he waved at well-wishers while leaving Clarence House in London this morning. Picture date: Friday March 28, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL King. Photo credit should read: Ben Whitley/PA Wire
Image:
Pic: PA

The King revealed in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment.

He returned to public duties in April last year and sources suggested in December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was “moving in a positive direction”.

Thursday’s short period of observation in hospital was described as a “most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction”, the Press Association said, quoting a source.

The King visited the London Clinic on Thursday morning and travelled to and from the hospital by car. He was not joined by the Queen during his brief stay.

Announcement shows incident of some concern

This news was unexpected, even though we’ve known the King is still undergoing treatment for his cancer.

It is also unusual for the King to cancel engagements, especially a day in Birmingham which will have been meticulously planned.

That said, the palace was keen to stress he should be back to work as normal next week, and there was no sense this will have any effect on the upcoming state visit to Italy.

The King enjoys his work and won’t be happy letting people down. Some have said his work is what has helped keep him going through his diagnosis.

Aides called it a “bump in the road” and that overall the King’s progress is heading in the right direction.

But the fact they decided to make this announcement shows it was of some concern.

It is also a reminder he remains a cancer patient, and with that, facing all the uncertainty and unpredictability the disease can present.

Tourist Julian Mati, 34, said it was a “relief” to see the King looking well, admitting he was “horrified when we heard the news yesterday.

“We had come down to the palace today to take pictures, but we never imagined we would see the King. To see him smiling and waving, it’s such a relief.”

In its statement, the palace added that the King “would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result [of his cancelled appointments].”

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On Wednesday, the King had a typically busy day of activities. He was at London’s Somerset House, where he unveiled a plaque, before hosting a reception at Buckingham Palace in the evening.

Last week, the royals also made a three-day visit to Northern Ireland.

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