Isle of Skye shootings: Man charged after one dead and three injured in Scottish Highlands

Victim John MacKinnon was reportedly trying to help others when he was killed

A 39-year-old man has been charged after a series of shootings that left one man dead and three people injured in the Isle of Skye and Scottish Highlands.

The suspect will appear at Inverness Sheriff Court on Friday in connection to the alleged murder of John MacKinnon, 47, and three attempted murders.

Mr MacKinnon was reportedly trying to help others when he died after a firearm was discharged on Wednesday morning on Skye. A 32-year-old woman was also injured elsewhere on the island.

Gunshots were later also heard on the mainland at Dornie, Wester Ross, where a man and woman, both 63, were injured.

Police Scotland said the man was in a “critical” condition while the younger woman is in a “serious” condition.

Officers were called to a property in the Tarskavaig area of Skye on Wednesday morning, where they found a 32-year-old woman with serious injuries. She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

About half an hour later, gun shots were reported at a property in the Teangue area of the island, about eight miles away, where Mr MacKinnon was found dead when emergency services arrived.

Following separate reports of gun shots in Dornie on the mainland, a 63-year-old man was found with serious injuries and taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment. A 63-year-old woman was taken to Broadford Hospital, Skye, and released after treatment.

The shootings happened before 9am on Wednesday.

In a statement released through police, the family of Mr MacKinnon said: “John was a loving husband, father of six, brother, uncle and grandfather to his family, and was a much-loved member of the community.

“John loved the outdoors, was a keen motorcyclist and, as a loved father, shared his activities with his family.”

Forensics officers at the house in Dornie, Wester Ross (PA)

The 39-year-old man charged is due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court on Friday.

Ch Supt Conrad Trickett said a Taser was discharged. He said the person who discharged the gun had a licence.

Ch Supt Trickett said: “The thoughts of myself and colleagues across Police Scotland are very much with the family and friends of Mr MacKinnon and the three people who remain injured.

“These incidents took place in a close-knit rural area and have a significant impact not only on those directly affected but also friends and their neighbours living in these communities.

“Serious incidents witnessed yesterday are extremely rare and I would like to further reassure the local communities that they were dealt with and there is no further threat.”

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “My thoughts are with those most directly affected by what has been a horrific incident on 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.”