He wasn't hiding. He was visible, almost performative.
On a Friday night in Edinburgh, a sequence of violent attacks across multiple city locations left five people injured and a community shaken. Lewis Hawkes, 36, now faces terrorism-aggravated charges including five counts of attempted murder — the designation itself a statement about how authorities understand the motive behind the violence. The targets were Muslim worshippers leaving evening prayer, strangers on a tram, a delivery driver, a taxi — a pattern that speaks to something older and darker than one man's rage. In the days since, the city has begun the slower, harder work of reassurance.
- Five people were attacked across Edinburgh in under an hour — two stabbed near a mosque after prayer, three more assaulted on Leith Walk with knives and a hatchet.
- CCTV footage captured a bare-chested man carrying two large knives, chasing cyclists and tram passengers in scenes that spread alarm far beyond those directly harmed.
- Terrorism-aggravation charges signal that investigators believe ideology, not impulse, drove the violence — raising the stakes for how the city and its institutions must respond.
- Muslim communities and multi-faith groups across Edinburgh have been left navigating a heightened sense of vulnerability in spaces — mosques, streets, trams — that should feel ordinary.
- Police Scotland has contacted more than 90 multi-faith organizations in an effort to contain fear, prevent retaliation, and hold the city's social fabric together while the investigation continues.
Lewis Hawkes, 36, appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, charged with five counts of attempted murder carrying a terrorism designation. He was remanded in custody and entered no plea.
The attacks had unfolded across the city the previous Friday night. Two men, both 22, were stabbed repeatedly near Broomhouse Mosque shortly after finishing evening prayer — taken to hospital with injuries that, like all those sustained that night, stopped short of life-threatening. The violence then moved east: a taxi was vandalized at a petrol station, its windows smashed and a hatchet left inside; a convenience kiosk on Ferry Road was ransacked.
By 21:28, BBC Scotland footage showed a bare-chested man with two large knives on Leith Walk. He chased a cyclist, attacked a man stepping off a tram, struck the door of a pizzeria until shutters came down, then turned on a delivery driver before police arrived. The full charge sheet — five attempted murders, assault and robbery, breach of the peace, culpable and reckless conduct — carried terrorism aggravation on every count.
In the aftermath, Police Scotland reached out to more than 90 multi-faith organizations across Edinburgh. Superintendent Neil Wilson spoke of the need for all communities to move through daily life without fear. The attacks had opened a wound in the city's sense of itself, and the work of healing — deliberate, uncertain — had already begun.
Lewis Hawkes stood before Edinburgh Sheriff Court on a Monday afternoon, charged with five counts of attempted murder. The charges carried a terrorism designation. He was 36 years old, remanded in custody, and made no plea during the private hearing.
The violence had unfolded across Edinburgh on Friday night, a sequence of attacks that left five people injured and sent ripples of fear through the city's Muslim communities and beyond. Two young men, both 22, had just finished Asr prayer at Broomhouse Mosque in the west of the city when they were stabbed repeatedly near Sighthill Park around 20:30. Both were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Their injuries, like all the others that night, were not life-threatening—a fact that offered cold comfort to those who had been targeted.
The violence did not stop there. Within minutes, a taxi was vandalized at a Shell garage on Telford Road, its windows smashed. Security footage later showed what appeared to be a hatchet with a yellow and black handle left in the back seat. At 21:15, the same man—or someone connected to the attacks—was recorded on CCTV at a BP garage on Ferry Road, entering the kiosk and overturning shelves, scattering products across the floor.
By 21:28, footage obtained by BBC Scotland captured a bare-chested man carrying two large knives, parking partially across a bike lane on Leith Walk. What followed was a sequence of brutal encounters. He chased a man on an e-bike, then turned on another man who had stepped off a tram, striking him repeatedly with the knives. When that man fled, the attacker pivoted toward a pizzeria, striking its door until the restaurant brought down electronic shutters. Minutes later, he attacked a delivery driver on an e-bike, who fell from his vehicle. Police arrived shortly after.
Hawkes was charged not only with the five attempted murders but also with assault and robbery, two counts of breach of the peace, and two counts of culpable and reckless conduct. Every charge carried the aggravation of a terrorist connection. The investigation was led by counter-terror officers, a signal of how authorities were treating the violence—not as isolated incidents but as part of a pattern motivated by ideology.
In the days following, Police Scotland reached out to more than 90 multi-faith organizations across Edinburgh. The message was one of reassurance and solidarity. Superintendent Neil Wilson acknowledged that concern among some communities had been heightened by the attacks. He spoke of the need for all communities to feel supported and protected, to move through their daily lives without fear of hatred or intimidation. The attacks had exposed a fracture in the city's social fabric, and the work of repair had already begun.
Notable Quotes
It is important that all communities across Scotland feel supported, protected and able to go about their daily lives without fear of hatred or intimidation.— Superintendent Neil Wilson, Police Scotland Edinburgh division
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What strikes you most about how quickly this escalated—from the mosque to the petrol station to Leith Walk?
The geography of it. He wasn't contained. He moved across the city, targeting different kinds of spaces and people. A mosque, a garage, a street. It suggests intention, not panic.
The bare-chested man with two knives—that detail from the footage. What does that tell us?
It tells us he wasn't hiding. He was visible, almost performative. That matters for understanding what motivated him. This wasn't secretive violence.
Five people hurt, none with life-threatening injuries. Is that luck, or was there something else at play?
I don't know. The source doesn't say. But it's worth sitting with—the difference between what could have happened and what did.
Police reached out to 90 organizations. That's a lot of outreach. What's that really about?
It's about preventing the next thing. Not just catching him, but making sure communities don't fracture further, don't turn inward or retaliate. It's damage control and prevention at once.
Do we know anything about Hawkes himself—his background, what led him to this?
No. The court appearance was private. We know what he did, not why. That's the gap the investigation will try to fill.