Edinburgh crime: Terrifying moment masked gang seen brandishing arm-length knives in Edinburgh city centre

Finlay-James McLeod-Bain, owner of Whisky Laundromat on Jeffrey Street, was walking across the city around 7.20pm on Monday to have dinner and drinks, when he found himself caught in the middle of a gang fight.

“There was three on one side of me and three on the other,” said Mr McLeod-Bain. “They were wearing balaclavas, so I couldn’t see their faces and they kept going into their trousers and shouting at each other.

“At first I thought they were attacking me as I was in the middle. That’s when I became scared and panicky, and was just thinking I need to get out of the way.

“I was thinking of my loved ones at that moment.”

He managed to get to safety and said he realised the masked gang members were threatening each other.

Mr McLeod-Bain said he was shocked by the size of the weapons they were carrying.

“They were running across the street between H&M and the Scott Monument,” he said. “Some were pulling out their blades and flashing them while others were waving them around.

“I think of knives as like a kitchen knife or something. These ones were huge, around the length of my arm.”

He said some members of the public were running away from the scene, while other people carried on and appeared to be minding their own business.

Mr McLeod-Bain phoned the police to tell them what had happened. He later emailed Edinburgh City Council.

He said: “I’ve never seen this kind of crime in Edinburgh before. You expect things like punch-ups, but never this kind of knife crime.

“It’s the sort of thing that you think happens elsewhere, like in some parts of Glasgow. It was totally unexpected.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a group of men causing a disturbance on Princes Street in Edinburgh around 7.20pm on Monday, October 13, 2025.

“The area has been searched with no trace of anyone in the area and no one has presented as injured. Enquiries are ongoing.”