A number of Edinburgh residents were left terrified last week after believing a pest control exercise was a shooting.
Locals in Gilmerton frantically got in touch with police on Sunday after many heard shots fired on multiple occasions, with armed officers racing to the scene.
With the area having experienced gun crime in previous years, some explained they had thought the noise was gang violence breaking out, only to discover it was actually a bird shoot by a local farmer.
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Beginning at around 8.30am on Sunday, residents living up to a mile away shared that they could hear the shots ringing out for hours, reports the Record.
In recent years, the area has seen a number of criminal shootings take place, including the murder of boxing champion Alex McKinnon in the Marmion pub in 2006. Since then there have been dozens of incidents including a drive-by last year when a gunman opened fire on a house in Burdiehouse as children played nearby.
Police said the shocking incident in Burdiehouse Drive in August 2021 was a ‘targeted’ attack after a number of shots were fired ‘indiscriminately’ towards the property. The occupants of the property, two young children, a man and a woman, were not injured but a window at the house was damaged.
Talking about Sunday’s incident, a local resident said: “The guns could be heard clearly early in the morning. My daughter got concerned and was worried it was another shooting. The area has been plagued with shootings for years and maniacs with guns taking potshots at houses. The landowner should be notifying residents when he is doing these pest control shoots.”
He said residents are already fearing the area is being dragged down again by feuding gangs fighting over drugs and territory. The man added: “So waking up to gunfire in an area known for gun-carrying thugs is not ideal. It would be nice to be forewarned it’s happening.”
Jill Henderson, who owns a dog walking business and lives in the area, warned others via Facebook of the gun shots. She said: “I live locally and heard the gun shots going off. The last thing you want to do is get woken up at 8:30 on a Sunday morning with gun shots going off. It wasn’t just a couple that stopped for ages then started again, it was constant and it continued until 5pm that evening.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “We received a call around 9.25am on Sunday. Armed officers attended because they were in the area, they weren’t deployed. Local officers arrived and confirmed all was in order.”
Pest control shoots - which allows farmers to shoot birds causing damage to their crops - are not illegal in Scotland. The landowner, who owns the massive Mortonhall estate, has been contacted for comment.
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