NICOLA Sturgeon has said the communities affected by the incidents on and around Skye will be feeling a sense of “devastation”.
John MacKinnon, aged 47, died following a series of incidents on the Isle of Skye and in the Dornie area of Wester Ross on Wednesday.
Three people were taken to hospital following the incidents, some of which involved a gun.
A 39-year-old man has been arrested in connection with all of the incidents.
The First Minister was asked about the incidents 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.
“I want to convey that strength of feeling to those individuals and families who will have been devastated by what has happened.
Police at the scene of an incident at a property in the Teangue area on the Isle of Skye
“Obviously, the kind of incidents that happened yesterday would have been horrific and devastating in any part of the country.
“But the kind of communities we’re talking about here are small, close-knit communities and that sense of devastation will be felt even more acutely.”
She added: “Everybody, I know, across Scotland will be thinking of the communities affected on Skye right now.”
Police confirmed on Thursday that the other people injured during the incidents were a 32-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man who remain in hospital.
Police said the woman, who was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, remains in a serious condition.
The 63-year-old man was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment to serious injuries and remains in a critical condition.
A 63-year-old woman was also taken to hospital and later discharged.
