POLICE have responded to an incident which reportedly saw a youth armed with a homemade bow and arrow threatening locals.
The teen was spotted in the harbour area of Edinburgh’s Leith district late on Tuesday evening by a member of the public, who was left in disbelief at what he was seeing.
The local watched in disbelief as the young man walked past him wielding a “homemade longbow” with a number of arrows tucked into his belt, before aiming it at two other bystanders, who were forced to flee into their nearby home.
The 33-year-old onlooker dialled 101 but by the time police showed up with “25 armed response officers” supposedly on standby, the would-be Legolas was long gone.
The witness claims the yob ignored him and walked right past wielding a weapon that looked “right out of Lord of the Rings”.
Claiming the bow looked professional standard, the man says the youth then pulled the string of the bow back to the point he could “hear the tension” on the bow, before aiming it at two people nearby and running towards them.
The two bystanders who were threatened with the weapon allegedly ran back into their home with the armed youth pursuing them right to the doorway before he casually lowered his bow and wandered off again.
The youth was described as 12-15 years of age, olive skinned and skinny with spiky hair wearing a black hoodie and joggers.
Police responded to the call and within 15 minutes two officers were on scene with as many as 25 armed response officers reportedly waiting in a nearby vehicle.
The witness offered a description of the youth and the incident to cops who then searched the area but were unable to locate the individual in question.
The onlooker alleged that the weapon was a “homemade long bow as big as him” whilst the youth also had “a pile of sharpened homemade arrows” by his waist.
The incident comes just days after a load of sharp caltrops were found littering the bike lanes of Leith Walk.
The Leith local issued a warning on social media to other Scots on Wednesday to be on the lookout for the youngster.
The post has since received over 220 likes and more than 100 comments from baffled Leithers, some of whom were quick to find humour in the “medieval” approach from the youth.
One user joked: “First caltrops, now longbows. Leith is actively regressing into medieval times. Or maybe advancing, hard to tell.”
Another quipped: “Trebuchets currently being constructed on Leith Links.”
A third punned: “Robin in the hood.”
Another wrote: “We used to make them from broomsticks. Lots of work and a long time ago right enough.”
A fifth simply commented: “My God.”
Speaking today a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 8:30pm on Tuesday, 17 December, we were called to a report of a person with a possible weapon in Western Harbour View, Edinburgh.
“Officers attended but there was no trace of the person on arrival nor on a further search of the surrounding area.”
