A man responsible for the attempted murder of two women and serious assault of one man has been convicted.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Peter Cameron pled guilty to the attacks, on one of the female victims and the male victim. He was found guilty of the attack on the other woman.
The incidents all took place outside a hotel on the Grassmarket in the early hours of Thursday 8th November 2018.
The 38-year-old approached the women, aged 60 and 58, as they stood within a vennel area and after briefly engaging them in conversation he returned with a knife and began assaulting the pair.
Both were left with serious injuries, which could have been more serious, had a 37-year-old male employee from the hotel not come to their aid.
As a result, this man was also assaulted, sustaining an injury to his hand during a struggle with Cameron.
Following a ‘robust’ investigation by Edinburgh Division’s Gayfield CID Cameron was arrested and charged during the same evening of the incident.
Detective Sergeant Gavin Howat from Gayfield CID said: “This was a particularly violent attack, which Cameron carried out on two complete strangers and had it not been for the courageous intervention of the member of staff from the hotel, he could have been facing a murder trial.
“Both women sustained serious injuries to their bodies and while physically they have now recovered, the psychological impact of this attack may take much longer to heal. The male victim also sustained a painful, but thankfully not serious injury to his hand as a result of his struggle with Cameron.
“We treated this incident with the utmost seriousness and as a result of inquiries carried out within the city centre, Cameron was swiftly arrested and charged.
“Tackling violent crime remains one of our top priorities and whenever offences like this arise we will use all resources at our disposal to bring those responsible to justice.”
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